


Meeting You

by SeaRoslinFalcon



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:07:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 34,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24878947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeaRoslinFalcon/pseuds/SeaRoslinFalcon
Summary: The masterpiece AU saga 'And Then I Met You' has vanished off the face of the internet.  I’ve asked on many different platforms if anyone has it saved to no avail.  It was (and is) one of my favorite SpaceParents fics.  Unable to let it go and with ample time at home, I’ve decided to shamelessly recreate what I can remember.  I hope I get the sentiment. It’s an homage to a lost treasure. If anyone out there knows missbevcrusher from LJ, can we persuade her to post her work on AO3???  Or send me a message if you have the story saved somewhere and I'll love you forever. Please enjoy.
Relationships: William Adama/Laura Roslin
Comments: 66
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The masterpiece AU saga 'And Then I Met You' has vanished off the face of the internet. I’ve asked on many different platforms if anyone has it saved to no avail. It was (and is) one of my favorite SpaceParents fics. Unable to let it go and with ample time at home, I’ve decided to shamelessly recreate what I can remember. I hope I get the sentiment. It’s an homage to a lost treasure. If anyone out there knows missbevcrusher from LJ, can we persuade her to post her work on AO3??? Or send me a message if you have the story saved somewhere and I'll love you forever. Please enjoy.

-1-

She couldn’t help but think that this entire thing was a mistake. Blind dates and Laura Roslin had a bad track record. After many attempts at playing matchmaker, Marci wore Laura down. It had been months since she’d been out with anyone. Work, home, then to bed alone. This had been her routine. She was comfortable, she didn’t feel the need for a boyfriend. Sex would be nice, but she wouldn’t be having any tonight. Not on the first date with a man set up by Marci. Laura had no idea how Marci seemed to know everyone on Caprica, and she knew all too well how Marci could extract information from anyone, even from Laura. It would be better if there were no juicy details to hide. The brief she received from her friend was that her date was a military man, and used to be married to her cousin’s friend. She told herself that she’d have a good time no matter what. And kept her expectations low for a love match.

The house was clean and her kitchen was fragrant. She’s made a lemon thyme cream sauce for the meat, roasted vegetables, and fresh berry crumble for dessert. She had to admit, it was nice to cook for someone else. She had no idea what he liked to eat but she hoped he'd like the meal. She hoped he would like her looks as well. She wore a simple black dress that fit her like a glove. Not too tight, and with a hint of cleavage. She wore black pumps and thin silver dangle earrings. Elegantly understated, with the promise of more on the horizon. That’s how she saw herself. She chuckled at the memory of a boy in secondary school calling her a tease. She supposed he was right. Then she chided herself: Maybe it’s been too long since your last date, Laura.

***

Bill could not believe he was doing this. Being set up on a blind date by his ex-wife’s friend was not something he ever thought he would agree to. But months of deep space travel left him OBE and in need of new faces. Unlike Saul, he prefered a woman with a brain who was not on the clock while with him. Dating was easier when he was younger. As a hot-shot fighter pilot out on the town he and his crew had women at their feet like groupies. But as years passed he knew that wasn’t what he wanted either. Someone of substance was what he craved. Apparently this woman, Laura was her name, worked in the colonial department of education. With his status as Major he supposed their careers in middle management gave them at least something in common. He bought a bouquet of flowers before heading to her place. He opted for civilian clothing to meet her. A simple ensemble of slacks and a thin dark gray sweater. It was tighter in the chest and around his arms than he remembered, the long months in space with little to do led to many hours in the gym. But he knew he looked good.

***

Beautiful stargazer lilies, and a face only a mother could love. That was her first impression. Gods she was unkind. He stepped through the threshold and she took note of his dark blue eyes and thick biceps; now those she liked. She was about to greet him and shake his hand but instead she sneezed and blurted out “I’m allergic to those.”

“Oh. Sorry. Um, Bless you. I’m Bill Adama,” he said while setting the bouquet outside on her patio and closing her door as she rushed to the kitchen to wash her hands. “Sorry about that.” 

She walked back and led him inside with a sniffle and a smile. “How could you have known? I wish I wasn’t allergic, they’re so beautiful. Come in. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Laura Roslin.” She thought his smile was bright and boyish at the same time, it softened his dimpled and scarred cheeks. She also took note of his height, scantly taller than she, and his bowed legs. Not her type. Nice try Marci.

She offered him a drink and he sat at her counter while she finished preparing dinner, refusing his offer to help. She thought him a tough egg to crack. Bill was apparently not one for small talk. She would have to do the heavy lifting in terms of conversation. She usually (through not recently) dated men who were classically handsome, tall, talkative. A bunch of smooth-talking braggarts if she thought about it. Everything about Bill could go on a list of things that she would not choose for herself. Though if she were any good at choosing men, she would not be subjected to blind dates. 

Yet for some reason she liked him. He was exceedingly polite. The fact that he was not forthcoming with any questions or anecdotes led her to believe that even if he liked her, he probably wasn’t romantically interested in her. She guessed that they would have an awkward dinner and that would be that. Never to be seen again. 

There was one part of the traditional first date conversation that was not typical. She was intrigued to find out that Marci had been sent on a mission to set Bill up by his ex-wife. 

“Must have been an amicable split.”

“We share two children. It’s gotten better with time. Marriage didn’t work out, but parenting together is easier now that we don’t have to live together. We want each other to be happy for the sake of the boys.”

Their eyes met and she had the strangest feeling. Like they knew each other, or they had had this conversation before. The moment seemed to go on and on. 

Their eye contact felt like a spell, like she didn’t want to break it. And just like that he asked her if she’d ever been married and the moment shattered. She was once again trying to entertain a stranger, one who was just following the script of a first meeting. Afraid of what the judgement by him would be because of her forever-single status. She smiled and said “no”, trying not to scrutinize his reaction. And quickly cleared their dinner plates for desert.

Dinner and desert were delicious. He told her so and she wondered if that and his confession about co-parenting were the only real things he’d said to her all night amidst all the other banal banter. When he left he shook her hand and told her that he had a lovely time. He took the bouquet off of her front step so she wouldn’t have to come in contact with the plants she was allergic to. She appreciated that courtesy. Neither mentioned anything about a ‘Next time’. 

When she cleaned up her kitchen all she could think about was how quiet her house was now, even though he had hardly spoken while he was there. 

***

Bill left her house and his head was filled with conflicting thoughts.

She was not his type. Not at all. His entire romantic career was spent with tight and tanned blondes. Laura was a fair and firey red head with subtle curves. But her sharp wit and intelligence was just what he thought he wanted. He couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated by her; he was like a fish out of water. The women he usually dated (though it had been a while) tended to be more girlish and bubbly. Their insecurities played well into his ‘strong and silent’ personality. 

He was probably six years her senior. He guessed her to be about 35, yet she had a calm and distinguished presence about her that made her seem mature and wise. And she already had earned a PhD. What could she want with an aging-out viper jock? Bill was never one to suffer from low confidence, so what was different about her, about tonight?

He’d started off with the faux pas of the flowers. He could tell that she was waiting for him to say more all evening, but he didn’t know what to say that would match her. Perhaps it had been a mistake to meet on her turf. Maybe he’d just spent too much time in space alone. A date on his first night back was a mistake. Going for an easy lay would have been the smarter thing to do, work his way up to a woman of Laura Roslin’s caliber. His next date would be easier, though probably not with her. She probably was not interested in him.


	2. 2

-2-

A few days after the lukewarm date, Laura was leaving the house to start her day when she was surprised to find flowers by her door. It was a potted hydrangea. “An outdoor plant in case you’re allergic. Thank you for dinner. - William Adama”

Polite. Formal. An inside joke. And no phone number. This was about as good of a button she could put on their date. She thought no more about it as she walked. It was a beautiful warm day and she decided to go a few neighborhoods over to do some shopping. There was a lovely bookstore/coffee shop she wished was closer to her home that she decided to visit first.

She ordered her tea and looked around for a seat to enjoy her new book and beverage when something caught her attention. The quiet Major Adama was at a small table nearby. The only seat open in the place was the one across from his. She decided he wouldn’t mind sharing his table; awkward first date or not, he was a gentleman.

“Major Adama?”

“Laura.” He stood from his spot, the chair loudly scraping the floor. He kissed her on the cheek with the familiarity of an old friend. Completely incongruous for their relationship thus far. She held his elbow as she leaned in and returned the gesture. It surprised her how genuinely happy she felt to see him.

“Please, join me.”

“Thank you. For the seat and for the gift. You guessed right; I’m not allergic to hydrangeas. And the plant is beautiful.”

“You’re quite welcome.”

They sat and chatted about flowers and the books they were reading. The pressure of being on ‘a date’ gone. BIll was still a far cry from verbose, but she found that he was easy to talk to. Pleasant even.

***

He got up to get refills on their drinks. The amount of coffee he had today was absurd. But he didn’t want this impromptu meeting to end. She was so relaxed and easy to talk to today. And beautiful. She had been beautiful at her house of course, but dressed in casual jeans, casual sweater, and boots he thought she was even more so. When he left her house he truthfully didn’t think he would ever see her again. He was glad that he was wrong about that.

Things were going smoothly as they sat and read together, occasionally making eye contact over the spines of their books. Somehow the topic of politics came up. He should have known better to engage her in this. 

“We don’t have the funds to make education the same for every child around the colonies, and yet we have a huge fleet of Battlestars patrolling the skies.”

“I work on one of those Battlestars,” he said, putting his bookdown and challenging her with a look.

“I’m not ungrateful for your service. I know it is a difficult life in the military. All I am saying is do we need so many Battlestars up there when we haven’t seen the Cylons in almost 25 years.” This was a popular opinion among Caprican elites. He was not surprised that she was left-leaning in her views. Though it frustrated him.

“If they come back tomorrow, you’ll be thankful those Battlestars are up there.” He said dismissively.

“I’m sure you’re right.” But her countenance didn’t match her words. She perched her chin on her hand and looked at him as a challenge. Her eyebrows raised high above the rims of her glasses. She was silently demanding more. She must have been a very effective teacher. No one would dare defy her.

“Look, I fought in the war. I faced the Cylons. And I know what they are capable of. Maybe you don’t remember…”

“I remember, When the war ended I was eleven years old.”

“Seven” he muttered.

“I think I’d remember. I was eleven.”

“No. You and me. We are seven years apart.” 

She took a sip of her tea, not taking her eyes off of him. If she was expecting him to clarify, he would not this time.

“Listen, Major…”

“So now I’m just “Major”? What happened to Bill?” He tried to mask any hurt in his voice but his words came out angry.

“I’m addressing you with the respect you deserve.”

“If you want to continue to be respectful, then call me Bill.” He knew he sounded like an ass as the words came out.

“Okay, _Bill._ ” There were a few moments of iciness between them. She took a breath like she was gearing up to argue further. But he didn’t let her. He didn’t like to argue. Though he hated to admit that he did like to see all of her reactions.

“Listen, you’re right. About education. It shouldn’t be better or worse depending on the colony you come from. I believe that.” His acquiescence clearly took her by surprise. She may have even been impressed. “Maybe the money can be found somewhere else. I wouldn’t want it to come at the price of sacrificing our safety...Also I’d like to keep my job.” He smiled broadly.

She laughed out loud at this. “Oh Gods, oh no. I’m sorry sometimes I get the giggles…this used to always happen before debate team meetings in high school.” She tried to hide her blushing face as other patrons looked over when her giggles devolved into full out bursts of laughter. Bill thought it to be one of the most charming sights he’d ever seen.”

“It was worth it just to see you laugh like that.”

She exhaled slowly and calmed herself down, fanning her face and wiping her eyes with unshed tears of laughter. 

They both went back to reading. He only caught her looking at him over the pages of her book once. But she caught him looking three more times. 

***

Gods she was embarrassed. And maybe a little bit flattered. This man had her really thrown. All of her first impressions of him were tilted almost 180°. He wasn’t ugly. Far from it, especially when he smiled and gods help her definitely not when he was arguing with her. He was passionate. And he was smart, choosing his words carefully. She liked him. She hadn’t expected to. She thought she’d sit and read just like she planned, her table companion just an acquaintance she could ignore. But she could not ignore him. When they went back to reading their books she wasn’t really reading at all. She was more interested in the man across from her. She looked over the pages to study his face, his mannerisms. She really needed to get a hold of herself.

As the shop readied for closing in the late afternoon, Laura gathered up her things to walk back to her apartment. It was hard to define what this meeting was. An unintentional date? Laura really enjoyed the time they spent together today. Unlike the date at her house, they both opened up a bit. She could see now how his charisma could have women lining up for dates. Plus he was a Viper pilot, they were notorious womanizers. Now could be her chance to see what all the fuss was about, she could just ask him to walk her home, invite him inside...

As her thoughts turned to having sex with this near-stranger, Bill took their mugs to the counter and cleaned up the table they had been seated at for so long. It was a nice gesture. A lot of people would have just left the crumbs and cups for the baristas to deal with. The manners on him were impeccable, incongruous with her ideas about Viper jocks.

They met at the door to the shop, presumably to say goodbye, or for Laura to unceremoniously proposition him, when the heavens opened up and it started to pour down rain.

“Frak”

“No umbrella?”

“No. And a long walk home.”

“My apartment is down the block.” Maybe he was beating her to it. She could go to his place. Her mind was turning over for something to say. Something suggestive or cute. For some reason he had her off kilter. She could only stare into his deep blue eyes like a doe in headlights.

He chuckled under his breath, “Don't worry, I’m not proposing anything untoward Laura. I’m going to run and get my car to drive you home.” He said seriously.

She suddenly felt embarrassed. He had been nothing but a gentleman. He wasn’t making a move on her. He might not even be attracted to her at all. Gods by the way he responded to her just now was like it was a joke that he could ever be interested in someone like her.

***

He chanced a glance at her and she looked worried, with her lips pursed together. He hoped he had not made her uncomfortable. 

“I’m coming right back for you.”

“Thank you.” She nodded.

She watched him run. Her eyes focused on his ass for only a few seconds before she told herself that they were friends at best. 

***

It was four minutes, not five, before he pulled his black SUV up next to the shop and turned on the hazard lights. Despite the few feet she spent exposed to the rain, she got soaked. 

“Thank you.” she said breathlessly, moving her wet hair out of her face. He could not help staring at her. She was breathing heavy, her shirt clinging to her breasts enticingly. She is so frakking sexy. She’s just a woman who needed a ride and he was going to help her out. He was just going to take her home. He wasn’t going to pull over on the side of the road and kiss her, he wasn’t taking her back to his place to make her come and scream his name in ecstasy. But he really wanted to. 

She cleared her throat and he looked up at her face. 

“You okay?” She asked. Her face was inscrutable. Did she think (correctly) that he was ogling her, or did she think he was having some sort of episode?

“Yeah.” He swallowed. “Here, let me turn on the heat, you must be freezing.”

They set off in the direction of her home. He put on the radio and light jazz music filled the car. She put her head back and signed. 

“I really didn’t expect that we would see each other again. After our date I mean….”

“Nor did I, Bill.”

“I’m glad we did.”

“Yeah, it was nice.” He could not tell if she was open to seeing him again or not based on that quick response. 

“I’m mustering out in two days and tomorrow night is...”

“I have plans for tomorrow night.” Shot down.

“Hot date?”

“I….”

“That’s okay, Laura. I don’t expect you to have a free calendar for an old man like me.”

“Seven years difference does not an old man make, Bill. How long are you deployed?”

“Three weeks.”

He couldn't believe it but she actually whimpered in protest, or maybe that was wishful thinking and it was just a noise she made because she was freezing cold and wet. He looked at her and she had her hands over her face as if to hide embarrassment. He felt hopeful.

“Would you be up for a second date with me in three weeks?”

“You want a second date with me?” She asked.

“I would like that, yes.”

“I thought you didn’t like me.”

“Why?”

“You don’t talk much.”

“I do when I have something to say….And maybe I was a little intimidated by being set up with a younger woman.”

“I told you, seven years isn’t so bad.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“What question?”

“Would you like a second date with me?”

“I think I would. Even though you are an old man.”

It was his turn to laugh out loud.


	3. 3

-3- 

The ballroom was filled with men in tuxedos and women in ball gowns. Bill hated these things. He was wearing his dress uniform, as per protocol. Carolanne was in a slick black satin dress. Coming to this gala was a favor he’d agreed to almost a year ago. She needed to network for her job. And a man in uniform looked good on her NGO-fundraising arm. “It could be good for your career too, Bill. A lot of Admirals and cabinet members will be there.” She’d insisted as he rolled his eyes. 

The politicking and back slapping was nauseating to Bill. Luckily Carolanne didn’t need him past their initial arrival. Once she was in the room she was off and on her way to schmooze with the Caprican elite and Bill was free to blend into the wallpaper by the bar.

He took in the scene. Candle-lit banquet tables, a jazz quintet playing to a mostly empty dance floor. The mayor and sure enough, even some federal cabinet members and military brass hob-nobbing. He'd rather be in space. He’d rather be anywhere else. Until he saw something that changed everything. 

Laura walked into the ballroom. She wore a long maroon dress with a velvet halter top and a long skirt that had a side slit, showing off a delectable amount of leg. She had a thin wrap that she held at her elbows, her shoulders and upper back exposed. His mouth went dry and his stomach dropped. He was suddenly glad he came to this thing.

***

This was a work function for Laura. Richard had insisted she come, his wife was the first person she saw as she entered. Thank the gods. She needed to see that woman as much as possible to remind her that Richard was married, that he was a scumbag, and that Laura was woman enough to tell him “No” the next time he tried. As she knew he would.

Marci was there as well. She took no time to find Laura and start in with the questions.

“How was the date?” “I’ve been told he is very charming.” “You know he’s a very high-ranking officer for his age?” “His ex-wife is coming tonight, you should meet her…”

Her head was spinning at the barrage. _Why in the world would she want to meet his ex-wife?_

She answered all questions diplomatically. “He was a gentleman. We might see each other again in a few weeks when he’s back planetside.”

“Excellent. But you don’t have to be beholden to him for weeks after one date. There’s plenty of men out there.”

“Marci, I don’t think I like where this is headed.”

“Sean Ellison is a very handsome broker. He’s here tonight and I told him that you two would meet.”

“What?!?”

“He’s a little young. But he’s eligible, and rich, and very handsome.”

“Then why don’t you date him, Marci?” She asked coldly. If he was young for Laura, he’d be indecent for Marci.

“Wow. You really did like Bill, didn’t you?” Shit. She supposed she was too quick to refuse, her cards now shown.

“I like him. I mean, I hardly know him.” Marci waited in silence, an expectant look on her face. “Okay, I guess the fact that I don’t already dislike him is a good sign.” This was too many words to play off as indifference.

“That is a good sign Laura. But, shhh. Here comes Sean.”

Marci was right, Sean was exceedingly handsome and charming. He was also very young. There was no way he was over 30. And yet despite their age difference, he was giving Laura his full attention. She was flattered but wasn’t sincerely interested. Marci had melted back into the crowd leaving her with this man. She could see Richard eyeing the two of them in her peripheral vision. Hoping to squash Richard’s advances she took this opportunity to use Sean for the optics. Anything to get Richard to leave her alone, his constant flirting and innuendo were starting to annoy her. It wasn’t enough to call him out or accuse him of harassment, but she knew it would get to that point if she didn't do something. So she accepted Sean’s request for a dance. 

Up close he was still handsome, but she felt like she knew him somehow. Surely she would have remembered him. “You look so familiar, do I know you from somewhere?” She asked Sean in his long and sturdy arms as he led her around the dance floor.

“You really don’t remember me?” His smile was almost blinding.

“I think I just told you that..”

“Well...Dr Roslin, I was your student.”

She stopped dancing and stared. “Sean…” Lords of Kobol she could see him now as a pre-teen boy. Now a dashing man with his hand on her hip. She took a step back, feeling like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on her. She'd never felt so old. 

“Might I cut in?” A familiar voice said close to her ear.

“Of course, Sir.” Sean answered, as if he was the person being asked to dance. 

Another set of arms circled her and she heard the words, “You look incredible Dr Roslin.”

“Thank you, Mr Mayor.” The shiver that ran down her spine was not pleasing. She was irritated.

“Who was that boy you were dancing with?”

She cleared her throat and collected herself. “A former student.”

“And I take it that he's hot for teacher?”

“Richard, believe it or not, not everyone is thinking about sex all of the time. That’s just you.” This was a bold move, calling him out like this. But after her dance with Sean, her nerves were rattled and her patience was thin. She was not in the mood.

“What do you expect men to be thinking about while you’re wearing that dress, Laura?”

“Richard...don’t. Your wife is here for Gods’ sake.”

He leaned closer and whispered, “She and I both like the dress. Something we can all talk about later if you’d be up for it.”

Good lords. As if this night couldn’t get worse. Being propositioned into a threesome with the Mayor and his wife might be the last straw. She was looking around the ballroom to find Mrs Adar. She wanted to know if she was watching this interaction. She wanted to find confirmation or jealousy in her face.She was struck dumb at what she found instead. A man stared at her and the Mayor from across the room. She felt her pulse speed up as he crossed the ballroom towards her. 

How she could have judged him as ugly when they first met? He looked...she couldn’t find the right word...spiffy. He was spiffy in his colonial dress uniform. He stood out in a sea of black tuxedos. Richard had started talking again but she didn’t hear what he was saying. She didn’t care. Her eyes were locked on Bill’s. She was certain he was coming over to be polite. Maybe he simply wanted to be introduced to the mayor.

“Might I cut in?”

Relief. Utter relief. 

The two men had some sort of polite exchange that she really didn’t clock. The next thing she knew, she was dancing with William Adama. And Richard was off somewhere else. Bill had not seemed interested in meeting him at all.

“Hi…thank you. I didn’t know you would be here.” Her voice didn’t sound like her own. But after a moment she sighed and felt oddly relaxed for the first time all night.

“I didn’t know you would be here either. You’re very popular tonight.”

“I...I am?” She said confused.

“I’m the third man to dance with you during the course of one song. Second if you don’t count that first one. Seemed more like a boy.”

That boy had about a foot on the Major, was that jealousy she detected? 

“You know. I’m torn between being thankful that you rescued me and being offended by your tone.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You know Bill, I didn’t actually say ‘Thank you’.”

“You did. It was the first thing you said.” Damn it he was right. “You needed rescuing?” He inquired.

“Yes. You saved me from a very uncomfortable conversation.” He didn’t ask for more detail. He just looked at her. And she looked back. It was borderline inappropriate how long she spent looking at him in silence. But she couldn’t help it. Where some would have called him ugly (herself briefly included in that group) she now found herself mesmerized by his face. His cheekbones were high and chiseled, she thought about putting her fingertips to his scars to learn their texture. She thought about feeling his hair above the back of his collar. She thought about clubbing him over the head and dragging him to an abandoned closet and having her way with him. What was wrong with her? She needed to get it together. 

“You know Major, this is the second day in a row we’ve run into each other. I’m starting to think you might be stalking me.”

“Technically I got here first. And I was already sitting in the cafe when you came in yesterday. I was wondering if you’ve been following me.”

She looked at him and saw that he was smirking, though his tone had been quite accusatory. She was at a loss on how to banter back with him, he didn’t respond the way she’d anticipated. She lost track of her flirting attack plan because his tone had been so dour, then his smile showed something like pity. He’d shot her down. 

“What are you doing here?”

“Repaying a favor.” 

“You’re on a date with your ex-wife, how is that a favor?” That ought to catch him off guard, she thought; he'd have to be curious how she knew who he was with. 

But he didn't even bat an eye at her knowledge of his date. “Trust me, being here is a favor. It’s never a good day for me when I have to put on the dress grays. Galas and funerals. I hate going to both.” 

“You look good in them though.” She spoke before she really thought it through. She absently moved her hand from behind his shoulder to his bicep and back, taking in the feel of the soft wool and the thick muscle inside. He hadn’t taken her bait about his ex-wife and she’d practically purred and groped him. Gods she hoped she hadn’t seemed desperate. 

He didn’t seem put off by her nervous energy. He also didn’t ask her if she wanted to continue dancing song after song, but they did. Though she would have liked a little more out of him; flirting, conversation, something. She wondered how someone could infuriate her and make her feel comfortable at the same exact time.

Once they started chatting along with dancing she promptly embarrassed herself. The entire sentence she said was: “I told my students who were failing that if they wanted to pass they needed to work harder.” It was an innocuous conversation about her old job. But unfortunately the last word (“Harder!”) became amplified when the band stopped playing. Several heads turned in her direction and she felt the heat rising in her cheeks. He didn’t seem to notice. He simply began walking them towards the bar as the dance floor cleared. His fingertips on the small of her back. 

“I mean, of course, that they needed to put in more of an effort.” She quietly clarified more to herself than to him. She was annoyed that she felt embarrassed while his face was completely impassive. Suddenly she figured out what her problem was: she had no idea what he was thinking. She never did. His inscrutability was slowly driving her crazy. The way he looked at her he could be thinking anything from “I feel sorry for her” to “What an idiot” or even “Meh, I guess I would frak her.” But She’d never know because he gave nothing away. 

“I bet they did, too.” He grumbled.

“What? Who?” She was flustered and irritated that she didn’t know what he was talking about.

“Your students. I bet they made more of an effort.” His face softened a little, and when her response was delayed his brow furrowed slightly in confusion.

“Oh.” He was simply engaging in normal conversation. You know, the one she started moments ago but had since completely lost track of because his face was confusing her. The divots from old scars and chiseled cheekbones were again competing for most fascinating. And his eyes...she was trying not to look directly into his eyes because every time she did she completely forgot what she’d been saying, and which colony they were standing on. She decided she wouldn’t be making eye contact with him from now on because it wasn’t fair. If she looked him in the eye he'd see everything she was trying to hide. She looked at his brows when she responded instead.

“Well most of them did, to be honest.” She said proudly.

“I’m not surprised.” He said as the musicians started again and the noise in the ballroom started picking up. He leaned in closer and said into her ear, “I doubt anyone would want to face a disappointed Laura Roslin.”

She turned to look at him again. Accidentally making eye contact and her mind went blank. In what felt like a survival tactic she broke the connection and searched for something else to focus on. She made an error by looking at his lips for a split second; and now her entire body felt bright red again. She tried desperately not not to look flustered as she turned her body so that they were standing side by side, waiting in line at the bar. Her hand patted his forearm and she managed a murmur of “Thank you...” He said nothing so she chanced a glance in his direction to see if he was looking at her or straight ahead. Neither. He was looking at his arm, at the spot where she touched him. Like she’d tainted him. 

She reluctantly excused herself from his company after their drink. The remainder of Laura’s evening at the ball had to be spent working. She had many obligatory interactions to make, all with a plastered smile. She did not enjoy any of it. Especially since she was constantly looking around the room to seek out Bill. She was more confused by Bill once she spotted the woman who must be his ex wife. She was tall and blonde and gorgeous; polished and with a genuine smile. She couldn’t help but notice that Bill’s face was just as inscrutable whenever the ex was on his arm.

***

At the coat check, Bill saw Laura waiting for the attendant. It was his last chance to talk to her before he mustered out for and he wasn’t going to let it slip by. As he approached, the tall young man she had danced with earlier got to her first. His hand went to her hip and he leaned in close to say something in her ear. She leaned back and Bill almost burst out laughing at the look she gave the man. Obviously whatever he had suggested was not something Laura was agreeable to. The younger man turned and walked away. Laura signed and rubbed her forehead.

“Fighting them off with a stick tonight?” He asked as the attendant gave Laura her coat.

She closed her eyes and sighed in disbelief. “Just the one.”

“And the Mayor.”

Her head snapped towards him and she looked shocked. Then she looked up at the ceiling and rolled her eyes, sighing. 

“And his wife…”

His eyebrows shot up, he was struck dumb.

“I wish I was kidding.” She admitted.

“Lots of offers then. Well...I can offer you a seat in my cab?” Her eyes narrowed and she turned her head, considering him. “For a ride home.” He clarified.

It took a moment to consider. She would have agreed to any number of things with Bill. But he didn’t need to know that. He was just being polite. “Sure. But what about your ex-wife? Marci wanted me to meet her.” She said with sass. It was cute. 

“It wasn’t a real date. I was going to ask you to come on the ride home yesterday, remember?”

She smiled and looked at him with uncertainty. “So you’ll give me another ride home? And I won’t need to employ a stick?” Coming out of her mouth it sounded like a dare. And the sparkle in her eye was unforeseeably attractive. 

He helped her put her coat on and led her outside. They rode in companionable silence. He gave the driver her address from memory, and hoped she wouldn't read anything into that.

The back of the cab crackled with tension. Bill had his hands clasped together, his knuckles white. He was looking at his hands, telling himself no to reach over and touch her. Her arm, her neck, her everything. Keeping his hands to himself was going to be harder than he thought possible. He looked over to her and laughed to himself, seeing that she was literally sitting on her hands. Maybe she was struggling to hold herself back as well. 

***

Laura didn’t know what was happening in her own body. She was having trouble sitting still. Her hands practically itched to reach out and touch every inch of the Major. Maybe it was the uniform setting her off, though she’d never been attracted to anyone else based only on the uniform before. She had always been good at sizing people up, but with him it was like her DRADIS was malfunctioning. He was an enigma. She didn’t know if he was holding his hands together in an effort not to pounce on her, but she was silently hoping he would just do it already. Why had she made a joke about not having to fight him off?! She was more than willing at this point.

“Leave it running, I’ll see the lady to the door.” His voice to the driver refocused her. 

She didn’t let him make it to her side of the car before she slid over and exited through the same door he did. He offered a hand and she took it only long enough for her to step out of the car.

She was partially disappointed that he didn’t send the car away. Then again if he had, she might have been annoyed at his presumptiveness. He had no way of knowing, but she wouldn't hesitate to lead him straight to her bed. They sauntered up to her door. He pointed to the hydrangea and complimented her on the pot’s placement. But that conversation was all unnecessary fodder. She really wanted to cut to the end and see if he was going to kiss her or not. Her mood was getting worse with every passing second that he didn’t. Were they friends, or was this romantic? She had to find out now.

“Thank you for the ride home. Let me get you the fare.” She reached into her small bag. 

“Laura, don’t be ridiculous.” He said, his hand halting her arm from digging for cubits.

“Bill I was going to get a car ride home. I’d planned on paying for it.”

“I’ve got it. I wanted to see you home. Alone and safe.”

She arched an eyebrow. “ _Alone?_ ”

“I’m sorry if you feel that’s an over-step." He said without apology in his voice. "But yes. And safe.” he was so matter-of-fact.

She scrutinized him. She couldn't take it anymore. “I’m sorry I don’t understand what is going on here. I can’t tell what you want. And I'm not good at guessing when it comes to you.”

“I could say the same thing.”

“You can’t guess my intentions?”

“No. But I’ll show you mine.” He touched her chin and placed a kiss to her lips. It wasn’t chaste, but it wasn’t demanding, he didn’t push and she was frozen in delighted shock from the contact. Their mouths never opened but they lingered. Gods, his lips are soft.

She wanted this feeling to last. It took her several moments to open her eyes again after he pulled away. She was elated to find that he was grinning broadly at her. 

“I’m back on Caprica in three weeks.” His voice was low and rough.

“I’ll see you then.” So was hers.

“Okay.” 

“Bill?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for the ride home.”


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First let me say thanks for the comments on the other chapters. This is headed to the higher end of the “Mature” rating now. If anyone remembers tidbits from the ATIMU fic and wants to help jog my memory, send me a message or leave a comment!

-4-

The small kiss they shared after the ball had been simultaneously sustaining her and driving her crazy. She found herself thinking about it apropos of nothing, sometimes in the middle of the day. Her assistant asked her why she was smiling at the end of a terrible meeting. What could she say? She was thinking about a man who was literally millions of miles away. A man who made her knees weak with a glance. A man with lips that had her wrapped around his distant finger with the smallest of kisses? A man she was wondering if she’d made up entirely.

On her way home, she picked up her mail. While leafing through the envelopes she found proof that William Adama was not a phantom, but a real person who sent her a letter. Sending mail from deep space travel was an extravagance. Even military carriers had very limited capacity. It was a special thing to get mail from a battlestar. By the time she sat down to open it, her checks were aching from smiling.

__

Laura, 

I hope this letter finds you in good health. Unfortunately I’ve just received word that my deployment has been extended. It will be 6 weeks, and not 3 until I will return to Caprica. I wanted to let you know that I am looking forward to seeing you again. And I did not want to leave you wondering why I had not been in contact. Hopefully you can keep batting down the many other suitors who aren’t stuck out in space before my return.  
How is my plant?

Yours sincerely,  
Major Bill Adama.

Her heart was flailing in her chest. She read the letter more than once. She wrote back after some measured deliberation and a toke of weed to calm her down. This was not like her. She didn’t swoon. She never got swept away. If she had slept with him before he left, she would most likely not be thinking about him this much. As much as she disliked this about herself, she tended to lose interest after a frak (or a few). Maybe this time was different. Everything else so far had been different.

***

Her return letter took two and a half weeks to reach him. He treasured it. His mind wandered to how she looked on each occasion they had met. Then he spent a lot of time wondering what she was wearing when she wrote her letter to him. 

__

Bill, 

I have never received a letter from deep space, I’m humbled by your thoughtfulness. Thank you for letting me know that your return to Caprica has been delayed. I’ve included my telephone number below, so when you get back you don’t have to write another letter. By that time we won’t want to prolong the wait. At least I won’t.  
The hydrangea is flourishing. Though I do take umbrage with your assertion of it being ‘your’ plant. Wasn’t it a gift? I’ve transferred it to the soil, so if you want it back you’ll have to come over and dig it out. You can use my stick.

Be safe up there,  
Laura

Was he blowing things out of proportion? She couldn’t be as captivatingly beautiful as he remembered, could she? There wasn’t a person alive who was so simultaneously so beautiful and smart and witty and adorable. He might be OBE, or else he was already falling for her. Neither was a great option for his sanity. For the first time in years, he’d rather be planet side than on his Battlestar.

****

Laura had a very productive day. Her meeting with the superintendents went very well, she went for a long run, cooked her favorite dinner, completed her meditation, and was now luxuriating in a warm bubble bath. She’d taken care of herself moments ago against the running water from the tap, thinking about her deployed Major the entire time. She came with a satisfied sigh. It was nice but she was looking forward to the real thing. For now she settled herself with a book and a glass of wine among the bubbles. She had the phone close by so when it rang she hardly had to move to answer.

“Hello?”

“It’s good to hear your voice.” 

Oh my gods, Bill. It was good to hear his voice too. It caught her by surprise.

“Bill. It’s good to hear from you. Are you planetside?” 

Over the last several weeks she found herself thinking about Major Adama so often that she wasn’t sure what was fact and what she’d built up in her mind. Apparently his sexy voice was fact. She could listen to him all day and night.

“I’m home.”

“Finally.” She heard him chuckle. Her own voice came out low and sultry after her orgasm and almost two glasses of wine. “Welcome back Bill.” She moved to pick up her wine glass, the bath water sloshing.

“Where are you?”

Maybe if she hadn’t just come with him on her mind, and maybe if she had not been a little buzzed from the wine she’d respond differently. But frak it. “I’m in my bathtub, I was just thinking about you.”

He coughed. Laura could not help but feel a little smug.

“Are you okay?”

***

This was awful. He had been fantasizing about this woman from deep space based solely on a small amount of time spent with her. And now she was just a ten minute drive away and she was telling him that she was taking a bath and thinking about him. To make matters worse he was choking over the phone.

“I’ll live. But I think you’re trying to kill me.” He answered when he composed himself.

“Certainly not. It would be political suicide, you being an esteemed member of the military.”

“Then it’s torture you’re into, not murder?”

“I’m into neither. You asked me where I was. I’m taking a bath. I’d rather be honest with you.”

“There’s a whole list of ‘rathers’ I can think of right now.”

“Tell me one.”

“Tell you one what?” He wasn’t being timid. He was making sure that he had permission to speak his mind.

“One thing you’d rather be doing right now.”

“Are we having this kind of phone call?”

“Sounds like it.”

“You won’t be offended if I tell you that a bath sounds wonderful right now.”

“It depends. If it’s your own bath, or a bath with someone else, I’d be pretty offended. But if you’d rather be sharing this bath, with me, right now, I would not be offended at all.”

“With you, of course. But usually I prefer to take a shower to get clean.” 

“Who said anything about getting clean?” The feigned innocence in her voice was enough to make him rock hard.

“You really are trying to kill me.”

“I promise you I’m not. I’m just…”

“Wicked?”

“What are you wearing?”

Holy shit she was really up for this. This woman was incredible.

“Fatigues. Standard travel uniform.”

“Oh I bet those are sexy as hell. Wait, you just got home?”

“I've been on Caprica for a few hours. I went to see my boys and had dinner with them. They have school tomorrow and it was late so they didn’t come back with me. I got to my place about 20 minutes ago. I started to unpack but I wanted to call you.”

“That’s really sweet, Bill.”

“Well I…”

“Take off the uniform.” She ordered. How could he not comply? He was a dutiful soldier.

“You sure you aren’t military? You sound well-practiced at giving orders.”

“Plenty of practice giving instructions while teaching public school.”

“What age did you teach?”

“Mostly pre-teen. Grade 6 through 8.”

“Gods those poor kids.”

“Hey! What are you trying to say?”

“A young teenage boy having to sit in class and watch you and listen to you… I’m certain it was… uncomfortable.”

“I see. And are you...uncomfortable right now?”

“Very.”

“Are those fatigues off?” Indeed they were, and so were his underwear. He was untucking his covers, while balancing his phone on his shoulder and stroking himself.

“Yes. I’m going to get in my bed. I’ve been thinking a lot about this bed and the plans I had for it when I got home.”

“Does more governmental funding need to be earmarked for ship’s mattresses?”

“Hmmm... The mattresses aren’t great but I wasn’t daydreaming about sleep.”

“Oh?”

“No. I was thinking about having you in my bed.”

“You...you were?” He heard the command drop out of her voice a little and it endeared her to him even more. He massaged himself slower, trying to hold off.

“Frak yes, Laura. I’ve been going crazy thinking about you.” He confessed hurriedly.

“I have too.” Bill’s heart ached when she said it. He could tell that it wasn’t an easy thing for her to admit.

“What have you been thinking about?” He dared to ask.

She hesitated. He was a mere acquaintance to her when it came down to it. She barely knew him. Was she going to tell him her most intimate thoughts? He really hoped so. There was a pause in which he almost bailed her out of the conversation. He gripped his balls in a meager attempt to calm himself down, to ready himself for her to call this off. This was too intimate, they’d never even fully kissed. 

“I’ve been thinking about your hands.” She blurted out.

“My hands?”

“Yes. They’re big. I remember how it felt to have your hands on me while we danced at the gala. He remembered too. His thumb made contact with her bare back and he was fascinated by how soft her skin felt.

“You’re a good dancer.” He complimented.

“So are you, but don’t change the subject. I’ve heard that compatibility on the dance floor can translate to other places.” 

“Laura you’re so frakking sexy.”

“This is crazy, you know. We barely know each other.” She giggled a little and it was like music to him. He had both hands on himself now. He wanted to bury himself in her.

“I know enough…”

“But do you think? I mean, do you think maybe we’ve just been fantasizing because we were forced apart right when things were getting interesting?” The honest answer was ‘yes’, but he wasn’t in a position to change the subject. He was so close to release.

“Maybe. You just said something. You have been fantasizing?”

“Yes. All the time. It’s distracting, really.”

“Tell me your fantasies. Please Laura.”

***

The sound of this man's voice saying “Please” in this context made her stomach flip. He did not sound desperate, just honest. It was incredibly sexy. She needed to hear him come. She could not deny him.

“I’ve thought about your hands on me. I’ve wondered how it would feel to have those big hands on my breasts, on my ass, grabbing my hair.”

She couldn't believe she was doing this. She could hear his breath grow shallow and faster on his end. 

“As in, hair pulling?” He asked for clarification. She might as well go for it and tell him what she really meant. 

“No. Not pulling. Just your fingers running through my hair… while I suck on your cock.”

“Oh Laura…” he groaned and she knew he’d met his end. “I’m sorry.”

“Why? Do not apologize. You deserved that. I’m glad I could help you.”

“But what about you?”

“Bill, I’m more than happy right now. You have no idea.”

“When can I see you?”

“Is tomorrow night too soon?”

“Not soon enough, I’d say.”

“Well I have to work. But I’ll be done around 1700.”

“Listen to you with the military time.”

“I’ve been studying up to impress someone.”

“Well I’m impressed. By a lot of things when it comes to you. Why don't you come to my place this time? I’m close to the government district. Come after work and I’ll have dinner ready for you.”

“That sounds great, Bill.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to…”

“Bill? I’m going to confess something to you.”

He sat up a little straighter in bed, worrying slightly. “Okay.”

“Right before you called… I had just… you know. I’d been thinking about you.”

“And…”

“And I had just finished masturbating. Oh my Gods, why am I telling you this?”

“I don’t know but I’m happy you are. It’s really frakking hot.”

“Just… I don’t want you to think I got shortchanged.”

“I didn’t have anything to do with that though.”

She laughed. “Oh yes you did.”

He sighed, too satiated to say anything other than what he felt in the moment, “This was really great Laura.”

“I thought so too.”

“As for tomorrow, I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything. We can just have dinner and talk.”

“I guess we can. But Bill?” Her voice dropped an octave.

“Yeah?”

“We can do whatever we want.”

She really was trying to kill him.


	5. 5

-5-

When she woke up this morning, she was conflicted about tonight’s date with Bill. She wanted to see him. She wanted to have sex with him. But she also liked him. And that was not normal for her. Laura had told herself for years that she did not care about boyfriends or marriage or relationships that were more complicated than casual. She was a woman with ambition and did not want to be sidetracked. She had seen her parents' marriage crumble. Her father was in love with someone else. He broke her mother’s heart when he left, but Laura was old enough to see that it was best for everyone. The agony of her father being with the wrong person and everyone knowing had taken a toll on the whole family. After their divorce Laura had split time between her mother and then with her father, his new wife, and her baby half-sisters. She loved the girls and adored her father. He was not a bad person, and he owned up to his mistakes. But Laura really admired her mother for her fortitude. She’d poured herself into her work and had been beloved and successful in her career as an educator, never looking back after her divorce. She never dated again and did not seem to be missing anything; she was happy and things were simple. It inspired Laura to get right to the good part, and to skip over the heartache of failed marriage and unrequited love.

Bill was dangerous. Something was telling her that he could derail her entire life if she got caught up in him. It was a ridiculous line of thinking because she barely knew him. But every little interaction they had made her insides beg for more. It had to be lust. She’d frak him and get it out of her system. They could be friends afterwards. That’s what she wanted. Or at least that’s what she told herself she wanted.

It was a beautiful spring day. Laura had walked to work this morning with the intent to head over to Bill’s apartment for dinner after her last meeting. What she had not anticipated was the warm weather. She was mildly concerned that she would be sweating by the time she got to his place. Her nerves about the whole situation may have been contributing to her overheating body as well. She wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed over her boldness over the phone last night. But she was a little surprised at herself. Phone sex was something she’d only ever done with someone she had already been to bed with. Bill might think that she was...what? Loose? A slut? No those weren’t words she thought he would use. She was worried that he would think that she was someone else; someone who would do that regularly. But maybe that would be better than him knowing the truth - that she’d never done that with someone she knew so little; and that they had something special in bringing it out of her. He could never know that. That would be disastrous. 

Even though she was ten minutes early when she arrived at his building, she decided to get out of the late afternoon sun and ring the bell marked with his address. There was no answer. After a few moments the door opened and a woman came outside into the heat.

“Power is out, darling. Nobody heard you buzz. Here you go.” She said, holding the door open for Laura. 

Thanking the stranger she stepped inside, supposing building security was not the tightest here. Though Laura hardly looked like a criminal in her work clothes. Today she opted for a lightweight gray suit, the one with a shorter skirt and a colorful blouse underneath, no pantyhose because of the heat, her nicest bra and underwear set (because she planned on showing them off), and heels. She’d received many compliments on her appearance today, including from the mayor, which she quickly rebuffed. At least he didn’t mention a threesome again.

Walking to work was one thing. Climbing four and a half flights of stairs in a windowless stairwell in heels and a blazer was another. She was going to look like hell by the time she got up there. After wiping away sweat from under her eyes and moving hair that was stuck to her face, she found enough resolve to knock on his door. Even if he was repulsed by her appearance, she knew enough about Bill Adama that he would at minimum offer a glass of water to be polite. As she raised her hand to knock on the door it opened and Bill was standing there. He looked shocked to find her there.

She noted how his dark complexion contrasted with the stark while t-shirt that was tight around his muscled arms and chest. It was apparent that the power had been off for quite a while, he had a thin sheen of moisture covering him. He looked hot. And hot. At least she was not the only one sweating.

*** 

He was intent on heading downstairs to meet her a few minutes before she was scheduled to arrive. But when he opened the door there she was. He should have gone down sooner, the woman was standing there sweating and breathing hard. He found himself unable to breathe for a moment at the sight of her. As it turned out, her physical attractiveness was not one of the things he blew out of proportion during his lonely nights in space. She was beautiful. Sexy. He thought about kissing her right then and there, about pulling her inside and ripping her clothes off as soon as he closed the door and having her against the wall. But they didn’t have that kind of relationship. And by now he should have said something to her. But he was struck dumb at the sight of her. 

She gestured behind her to no one. Finally breaking the silence, “Your neighbor. She let me in.”

“It’s good to see you.” He said simply. Smooth, Bill. “I was just coming down to get you. Sorry about the power.”

She crossed the threshold to his place and he could see that she was uncomfortably hot. He offered to take her jacket and gave her a glass of water. Her blouse had no sleeves and he was able to once again admire her skin, dusted with freckles. It was unbelievable how attractive he found her. They were standing on opposite sides of his small dining table. It was mildly awkward. They’d been intimate over the phone. But in person it was clear that the many steps they skipped before phone sex were crucial. They didn’t know each other, but he felt as though they did. Of course after last night all he could think about doing was taking her to bed. And he’d already promised her that she wasn’t invited over just for a frak.

“Dinner isn’t ready. The stove and oven run on electricity, so…”

“Oh. Well do you want to go somewhere? Or…” 

Yeah, his bedroom. But he couldn’t say that. 

“There’s a lot of little places around. What are you in the mood for? Or we could have drinks hors d’oeuvres here. Those are ready.”

“How many courses were you making?” She smiled.

“Three. Contrary to the reputation of viper jocks, I can cook.”

“Is it widely understood that pilots can't cook? I hadn’t heard that one before.”

He grabbed a tray of fruit and cheese and crackers and showed her into his living room. He moved his battery powered fan so it would point towards the couch. “What can I get you to drink?”

“I’d love a beer.”

She sat down and he went back to fetch drinks. “So what have you heard about viper pilots?” He asked, smiling.

She gave him a look that said he already would know her answer. “That you’re all full of yourselves.” She took a drink, “And that you sleep around.”

“That’s half true.” He admitted.

She laughed. “Which half?”

“I’ve never been accused of having low self-esteem.”

“So you admit that you’re cocky?”

“Cocky. But not a cocksman.”

“I’m thinking you do okay.” She teased.

“I don’t sleep around. I like to learn a woman. Like I learned how to fly my viper.”

He could see the blush rising on her pale cheeks. Also her eyes were narrowing.

“So you want control?” She asked with no amusement in her voice. He’d known from last night that Laura was not about being dominated. Nor did he want that. How could he explain?

“Not control. No. It’s about being an expert at getting results. Anyone can learn to fly a viper, anyone can move the controls. But I’ve spent my career learning how to maneuver it with precision and accuracy. I can fly any vessel out there. But I like my viper, because I know how to handle it.”

She was staring at him. Maybe he’d said the wrong thing. Comparing a woman to a machine was probably not wise. But he didn’t mean it in a derogatory way. 

“Well then. To precision and accuracy.” She said cooly, raising her beer to toast to the sentiment. He clinked his beer with hers and they drank. 

“I guess it’s not something I usually talk about. I just do it.” He babbled. He was staring at her lips. After they'd been wrapped around the beer bottle she licked them. He wanted to lick them too.

She put her glass down and sat up a little straighter. She smoothed her skirt, looking as though she was about to discuss something of great importance before taking his beer from his hand and setting it down. He wondered what she was going to say. “You want to talk more about it Bill?”

He didn’t answer verbally. Couldn’t even find the word ‘no’. So he shook his head. And suddenly she leaned in and kissed him, her palm resting lightly on his chest. The gentle touch of her hand on him made his heart race, and her lips on his were gentle, tentative. It was as though she was not sure if he wanted this or not. He did not want her to guess, he was going to make it clear.

He scooted closer and pulled her hip coser to him. Now they were kissing in earnest. If this was a preview of what was to come he was not going to be able to learn a damned thing; he was going to have to really concentrate. He was already painfully hard from just her lips on his. And after boasting about his desire to learn to please her, he was worried he wasn’t going to be able to do anything besides surrender to his animalistic instincts. He had never felt the loss of control over himself when he was with a woman before. But he realized he'd never been with a woman like Laura. And here he thought he’d been with every type of woman. He’d earned his viper jock rep right after the war. The only thing that blocked the horrid images of the Cylon experiments he saw was the thrill of chasing after and bedding women. He had only stopped after impregnating Carolanne. He got really lucky it had been her. She was cool and well connected. He loved her but he was not quite in love. He married her but he never truly committed his heart to her. But he had two wonderful boys and a home to come back to on shore leave for a few years. It did not take her long to figure out that she deserved more from her partner. Luckily when they split, they split amicably. They were still great friends. In fact if not for Caro, he wouldn’t have been introduced to the woman who was currently making him lose his mind. 

“Bed.” She said as she practically climbed on top of him, her hand now in a fist grabbing at his shirt.

“What?” He tried to say but it only came out as a questioning grunt.

***

Everything about him was lighting her on fire including his cock which she knew was rock hard but she couldn’t get to. She kept pushing her hips down, trying to find it, but she couldn’t reach from this angle on the couch. She slid her hands down to the small of his back and pressed, hoping to encourage him to shift and give her the pressure where she craved it. He made a noise that sounded like a growl and started sucking on her neck. _Yesss mark me_ she thought wantonly. The making out on the couch was great but it needed to come to an end. Now. 

She smiled against his lips and tried again, “Where is your bed?” The next thing she knew he had picked her up like she weighed nothing. She wrapped her ankles around his back as he moved them. 

She practically bounced off the bed when he put her down. He stood to remove his shoes when she got her first good look at him. His hair was a mess and his shirt was wrinkled and pulled out of his pants. She remembered doing that in a focused attempt to get to his skin. But her eyes were drawn to the very large bulge in his pants which was right at her eye line. She licked her lips. That was what she wanted. She sat up and ran her hands around his abdomen, lifting his shirt and kissing his belly. She undid the closure on his pants and relished the smell of him. He stripped himself of his pants and boxers. 

She knew from experience that size didn’t really matter. In fact she found that men who were well endowed tended to be less skilled, thinking they didn’t need to be. Bill was impressive in both length and girth. She was praying to the Gods that he had more to offer than her former lovers of ample size.

She sat up and held his hips steady, nuzzling his skin around his cock and his upper thighs. He sighed and his hands gently came to her head, he moved her hair just the way she’d fantasized he would. She briefly rested her forehead next to his belly button. She was really worked up, and needed a moment. Turning her gaze up to meet his, she saw his desire. His eyes were dark but his face was relaxed as he continued to gently tossle her hair, then he lightly touched her face with his fingertips.

“Hi.” She said. Because she wanted to say something and it was the only word she could muster.

He smiled down at her and chuckled, “Hi.” His grin was sexy and so self-satisfied. She wanted to simultaneously freeze him so he always looked that way, but also she wanted to wipe that smugness off his face and see him fall apart as he came. She knew her smile turned wicked for just a second before she turned her attention to his cock and she heard his breath catch. 

Moments later she looked up through her lashes to see his jaw drop and his eyes roll back in his head. That was more like it, she thought.


	6. 6

-6-

Bill woke up alone. He had a moment of panic at first. For only just being introduced to his bed, he was hoping Laura would consider taking up permanent residence there. They were entirely too good together. He never left a woman wanting or unsatisfied. But with Laura Roslin, he could not stop. Even after she came again and again. He wanted to give her more. And she had given him so much. His refractory period was almost nonexistent with her. He almost beat his 24 hour record he’d set when he was 19. Three orgasms for him, and by his count hers reached double digits. But even after that success, his first thought when he woke up was that he needed to make her come again. And she wasn’t there. He sat up in bed and was reaching for his glasses when the door to the en-suite bathroom opened and she appeared. She wore her bra and panties, dark green silk and lace. Her red hair Wild from sex and sleep. When she saw him sitting up in bed wide awake she was clearly startled.

“You're awake, I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“You didn’t. Are you coming back to bed?”

She looked around nervously. “I was thinking about going.” In his head the klaxon alarms were going off. She needed to stay, he had to try and get her to stay.

“It’s 0445. Are you sure?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“We don’t have to sleep if you don't want to.” He suggested. 

“Bill…” she sighed and sat next to him. “This was...it was incredible. You’re really great.” His hand was running down her ribcage. It stilled after she spoke. 

“Uh oh. But…”

“But. This is intense. I don’t know if...”

“All I was asking for is for you to come back to bed, Laura.” He said gently. His fingers skimming the silky fabric on her hip

“And what if I do?” 

“Well, we can see what happens. I don’t want you go in the middle of the night.” She looked apprehensive. He needed to redirect her thoughts. “Also, I like your underwear.”

“You saw them last night.” She said as she moved closer.

“Briefly. But I didn’t fully appreciate it. Come here.”

***

Oh gods she was really in trouble. She intended to leave. She didn’t think he would wake up. Good lords he should be exhausted! But he was up, looking sexy as hell, and inviting her back to bed. She needed to leave. Right now.

Her body and her brain didn’t seem to be communicating too well at the moment. Because she told herself to gather her clothes, but her body slid under the blankets with Bill. He pulled her like a magnet, she was already under him and being pummeled with kisses. Not that she minded. In fact, his mouth and his body seemed to turn her brain off. He felt so good. Even though she’d probably be sore she was begging him with her hips to enter her again. He made short work of removing the underwear he so admired. When they were joined again she thought nothing and felt bliss. The world could have ended around her and she wouldn’t notice. She rocked her hips against his, her body taking everything she needed. 

She slept afterwards. And when she finally awoke she was alone in his bed. That’s when she started thinking. Worrying. She felt split in two. Half of her wanted to run and block his number and never see him again. The other half of her thought doing that might very well kill her. Why was she this way? She did not want to be dramatic about it. But she knew that if something seemed too good to be true, it probably was. She still didn’t really know this man. Though she’d learned a good deal over the last several hours. A lot of really good things, she recalled smiling. She’d never been handled the way he handled her. She came so hard that her eyes watered and her body shook. Multiple times. He could offer his skills as some sort of therapy. It certainly changed how she felt in her body; relaxed, fulfilled, more centered. She’d been to week long meditation retreats that didn’t do as much. But her brain would not stop with the questions and doubts. Bill was just a good lay. She could keep it casual with him and go about her life. She could do this.

She got dressed and found him sitting at his table with a cup of coffee. “Good morning.” She said, trying with all of her might to sound casual.

“Good morning. Coffee? Breakfast?”

“Oh. Eh, no to both. I was just looking for my shoes. I should go.”

“Alright.” He stood and helped her find her heels. Handing them over he smiled. “I’m glad you stayed. I know it was hard to sleep without the AC.”

Truthfully Laura didn’t like stale recycled air. She usually just cracked a window at home, preferring to be warm than cold at night. 

“It’s fine” she said.

****

Oh boy. If Bill knew one thing about women, it was that the phrase “it’s fine” or “I’m fine” meant that something was undoubtedly NOT fine. 

“Did you want to talk about something Laura?”

“Me? No. I think I’ll just say thank you. For your hospitality. And for, um the other things. And I’ll go.”

“Alright.” She was flustered. It was incredibly cute. He was a bit worried that she was running out of his house. But she was right. Whatever they had between them was intense. Maybe she needed some time to think about it. He was certainly going to be thinking about it. A lot.

He opened the door for her. She turned back to him just before leaving and kissed him hard. It seemed to catch them both by surprise. He wrapped his hands around her ribs and she grasped his hair, holding him close. He was pleased that it did not feel like a goodbye. It was passionate and demanding and it made him deliriously happy. She sighed as their lips parted and he kissed a trail down her neck. He pulled back to find her looking stunned.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” She shook her head a little, as though to refocus. “I just wanted to check something.”

“And everything checked out?”

“Um. Yeah. Everything’s good” She said while staring at his mouth, her fingertips resting on his shoulders. 

He kissed her temple. When their eyes met he saw that she was smiling, but she was conflicted.

“Get outta here, Roslin.” He teased.

She relaxed a little and laughed at him. He took her hand and kissed it.

“Thank you.” She said with relief. 

“Call me?” He asked unsure, after she’d only gone a few paces.

She turned around slowly. “Absolutely.”


	7. 7

-7-

She called him. Five days later. Every day she wanted to call him and stopped herself. The ‘what if’s’ clouding her judgement. But finally she called, and told herself it was only because she’d told him that she would; and she didn’t want to go back on her word. Truthfully she had a shit day and she wanted a distraction. And she wanted to hear his voice, it had such a warm and soothing quality. It was the opposite of Richard’s voice. When it came down to it, Bill was the opposite of Richard’s everything.

Richard’s behavior was not going to break her. As much as she wanted to scream at him and tell him to frak off she’d hitched herself to the mayor's wagon. Eventually some other staffer would catch his eye and she would be left alone. That’s what she told herself. She had to just keep her head down and do her work. She could withstand his advances. She had no interest.

Bill agreed to meet her for dinner and a movie tonight. It would be the perfect step for them, something casual and normal and no lighting the bed on fire. That could lead to trouble. Bill explained that he had some business today as well, so he would be coming directly from the nearby military base. She expected that meant he would be in uniform. She expected he would look good in that uniform. She did not expect that when she saw him in said uniform that her reaction would be so visceral. Good Lords of Kobol. Those standard issue fatigues looked as though they were made just for him. The gray and blue camouflage pattern brought out his eyes so that they looked a lighter, clearer blue than normal. She suddenly no longer wanted to go on a normal date. She wanted that uniform crumpled in a pile on her bedroom floor. 

For the millionth time she wondered what had gotten into her, what was wrong with her. She didn’t want to fall in love with him. He had kids and an ex-wife and a job that kept him away for long periods of time. She told herself that those were the reasons.

Keeping him out of her bedroom was a good idea, she could get to know him as a friend. And yet she didn’t want to get to know him more because the more she knew about him, the more she liked him. And then she’d tell herself that she shouldn’t spend time with him because she didn’t need to like him more than she already did. So maybe she should just keep him as a lover. Or just cut him out of her life and find a different lover. But the thought of having sex with someone else suddenly seemed out of the question. With that line of thinking she knew that she did not want anyone else in her bedroom and she also really wanted his company. And she’d tried for five days to ignore it but she could not do it any longer so she had a moment of weakness and called him. And now he was walking towards her looking like some kind of superhero and he was smiling at her and she loved his smile and the uniform hat was silly and she wanted to take it off and run her fingers through his hair and yeah, she was way in over her head. She should not have called him at all.

***

He was just starting to give up on the idea that she would call him. He was happy she did. Laura Roslin was a pleasant addition to Bill’s life. He spent a lot of time thinking about her, even after frakking her. He did not want meaningless, casual sex. He’d been there and done that. But even with women he dated and genuinely liked he wouldn’t think about them as often after sex then he did during the pre-sex phase. After one night with Laura he was thinking about her all the time. Images of her head thrown back as she rode him, the way her hair framed her lovely face, how when she smiled sometimes it was a little lopsided. Little things. And big things too. She challenged him, she wasn’t looking to be the newest member of the officer’s spouse club, she didn’t need to be rescued from her life. She had it together. 

Today she had it together in a deep purple dress that showed off her figure in a way that led his thoughts back home to his bedroom. But when she called she said she was hoping to get home early because she had an early meeting tomorrow. Bill took it to mean that there would be no sex tonight. And he was fine with that. He was happy to be her company for the evening in any capacity.

Dinner was casual and their conversation flowed from various topics without much effort. They had a lot in common: books they liked, music they both enjoyed. But when they disagreed, it was clear neither would be dissuaded from their opinions easily. Sometimes that meant an icy silence, but usually meant she made some excellent points to change his mind. Politics was a good arena for her, she was so passionate when she spoke that he’d probably agree to whatever she was saying.

Except for what she was saying right now.

“I really appreciate you meeting me last minute. You’re a good friend.”

Friend. Uh oh. He didn’t want to be friends. He wanted more than that. But he was not going to worry. This was a woman he knew not to push. She’d figure it out eventually.

***

They saw a movie but she couldn’t tell anyone which one. Walking to the theatre after dinner, she was particularly irritated with her natural instinct to grab his hand. Instead she held his arm, which seemed less intimate in her mind. Except she felt his hard bicep beneath the rough uniform fabric and remembered how it felt slick with sweat as she grabbed onto it in ecstasy. 

Laura nodded in agreement to whatever movie he suggested. They were finally seated in a mostly empty dark theatre when she realized that she was still holding his arm. But now he was looking at her as if he was waiting for a reply. And he had just said something but she didn’t know what, she only heard the rich cadence of his voice but the words didn’t register. To avoid being called out by him she did what she had feared all evening and kissed him. They made out through the movie. Stopping only when it got too heated and one of them was about to cross the line of what was decent to do in public. Not that any of it was decent. It was juvenile behavior. She would expect better from her hormone addled preteen students. 

“We should leave.” She whispered to him. Before she knew it he’d grabbed her hand and practically dragged her outside.

“Where?”

“I should go home, Bill.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“I thought…”

“Listen I know I invited you out. And I ruined the movie.”

“I don’t care about the movie.”

“I thought we could be friends but I don’t think it’s possible.”

“And what’s wrong with being more than friends? We’re dating. We’ve been dating. We slept together. What happened that suddenly you’re talking about how we should just be friends?”

“We both have obligations. Our careers. You have your boys.”

“People have jobs and families and boyfriends, Laura. You don’t have to choose.”

“I know. I know. I just thought I could do it but I can’t. And I can’t be your friend because I see you and I want to frak you.”

Bill made a noise like a growl and gathered her up in his arms, kissing her passionately. “Then take me home and frak me.” He whispered in her ear.

Laura didn’t like being told what to do. But this time she did exactly as he ordered.


	8. 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating alert! This might be crossing the line from M to E.

-8-

Hard to find fault in a woman who looks that good kicking you outta bed.

“This was nice Bill, but...” She looked at him disapprovingly as she pulled her cream satin robe around her. Up until a second ago was appreciating the view of her padding around in her pink nightie. 

“Okay. I get it. I can go.” He sat up.

Even though she was making him leave, she stayed close to him. He didn’t want to go, but he also recognized that he needed to. There were walls around Laura Roslin that he didn’t know how to breach. It was confusing and he needed time to think about it. Hard to think about anything seeing as she kept touching him. She slid up next to him and gave his skin a barrage of soft kisses. She seemed particularly interested in his arms and shoulders. He couldn’t stop the spread of a grin as she hummed and gave his deltoid a peck.

“You want me to go? Because I can stay.” he threaded his fingers through her silky hair and stole a kiss to her lips, he felt her melt under his touch.

“No. I mean, yes. You need to go before, you know.”

“Before you use me for my body again?” He rasped between more light kisses. Of course he was kidding, but there is truth in every joke. He knew he went too far when she stood and stepped away.

“You really should go.”

“Hey, I’m sorry about that. It was a joke.” He attempted to recover. 

“I’m not trying to use you, Bill. But…” she couldn't even turn around and look at him. He felt like she’d punched him.

“But what? You mean you are using me?”

***

She did not understand herself sometimes. Dismissing Bill like this was not kind. Especially after all he had given her. He was an incredible lover and a truly nice man. But her feelings for him were moving way too fast. He looked at her expectantly, the hurt showing in his sincere blue eyes.

“I don’t know. I don’t know how to say it.”

“Fast and straight I’d advise.” His tone had gone from seductive to stern and damn if she didn’t know which one was more appealing. Though she didn’t take kindly being spoken to like one of his subordinates.

“Aren’t we using each other?” She accused without turning around to face him.

“I’m not using you.”

“Did you have not one but two orgasms just now?” She turned to give him her best teacher ‘I dare you to lie to me look’. It startled her that he had gotten up and was now standing close to her. 

“I did. And they were incredible. But I didn’t _use_ you to get them. I don't want you to think - Did I do something to make you feel used?”

“No.” She said, dropping her pretense. She just wished she could enjoy this, rather than sabotaging it. She didn’t know how to handle her feelings this early on.

“But you want me to go because….”

“Well, were all finished here aren’t we? I mean the sex was great.” She tried explaining but she sounded harsh, even to her own ears.

“I’m far from finished with you, Roslin.” He wagged his eyebrows and smiled adorably. He seemed so relaxed, having no idea that she was having a war between her head and heart two feet away from him. 

“You’ve made me pretty hungry.” He tugged at her wrist and sat back down on the bed and she stumbled over closer to him. So close that he rested his hands on her hips and nuzzled her belly through the silk of her nightgown. His hands traveled down to her thighs and his fingertips grazed at her skin, a wake of goosebumps trailing his caresses. 

Her hands were drawn to his hair from this angle. She loved it’s thick texture. Two of his best assets in her opinion (his hair and his voice) shared the same qualities. Rough and smooth at the same time, thick and velvety. Sexy beyond compare. 

His head had dipped lower and he was breathing her in, his hands moved to her ass and she knew he was talking about eating her. That was the problem. He was going to swallow her whole. She panicked. And though she knew her heart was due for a win, her head shouted out first.

“You - you really don’t have to do that.” She stammered. His hands froze. He looked up.

“Not if you don’t want me to, of course,” his hands started roaming again, “You smell so good though.” He babbled as he kissed her thighs. He meandered and she felt teeth graze her hip bones. She could scarcely breathe she wanted him so badly. “Let me feel you come this way.”

Yes of course she wanted that! Her insides were screaming at her to just say yes to him. This was the one activity they hadn’t covered in the bedroom yet. Every time he tried she redirected him. It wasn’t that she didn’t like to get head. She did. She loved it. But she always thought it to be more intimate than any other act. Fear that this thing with Bill was too new made her hesitate. If he was good at this (and she had no doubt that he would be) she’d be totally out of control of her feelings. But their mutual desire made it easy to agree.

Ironically, her surrender to his request resulted in Bill laying on his back and Laura sitting on his face. She tried to pull up to make sure he could breathe, but he kept pulling her back down. As good as it felt, she couldn’t get comfortable thinking she might literally kill him. He was too good for it to be a one-time experience. She hopped off of him and laid on her back and he rolled over to continue giving her pleasure. Gods be done, he was good. It wasn’t long before her thighs were tensing and her toes were curling and she was coming apart. He stayed there, licking her and whispering things, she could not hear what. She couldn’t think straight enough for words to register anyway. But she appreciated how he was taking such gentle care of her. As soon as her breath became even again and she could muster enough energy to open her eyes, he started again. Using his thick fingers and his mouth to start the process from scratch. Over and over he went back for more, each time leaving her a little more in awe of his prowess. And more exhausted than she’d ever been from simply laying still.

After his work was more than done he crawled up next to her. “You did just have, several orgasms didn’t you?” He mocked her with a self-satisfied tone thick in his voice. He shifted her hair to expose her neck and shoulder, kissing her there.

Through her exhaustion and still quite breathless she countered, “Don’t be smug, you’re proving my point. You enjoyed watching me come as much as I enjoyed coming.” 

“Gods damn right.” He said before kissing her below her ear. “I want to watch you do it again.” He kissed her jaw “and again,” another kiss at her pulse point “and again and again.”

“I can’t go again. You wore me out. I’m going to sleep now.”

“Okay. I’m gonna go.” He softly told her, his breath dancing on her neck, sending a delicious shiver over her whole body. It took a few seconds for his words to sink in.

“What!?” She protested suddenly not as sleepy, hoping that she was hiding the worry in her eyes.

“I need you to know three things.”

She swallowed, nodding lightly “Three things.” She repeated.

“One. I’m not using you. Two. I respect you and you asked me to go, so I will. And three. I’m taking you to breakfast in the morning.” He kissed her cheek. “So get some sleep. And I’ll be back in four hours to pick you up.”

She narrowed her eyes. It was impressive how he stated his intentions. Such command in his voice that he probably assumed she’d fall right in line. This military man was going to find out what it was to date a politician.

“How many times will I have to tell you that you’re not my CO?” She ran her finger nails lightly over his clothed chest. 

“You want to have breakfast with me or not?”

“Yes. But I’m too tired to talk about it. Stay. Come and sleep with me.”

“Make up your mind, woman.” He joked before he flopped back onto the bed, dragging her closer to him.


	9. 9

-9-

They had several more dates. Very successful dates if Bill said so. Or maybe satisfying was the better description. As it stood, he currently served at her beck and call for sex. He felt lucky as frak to get the call every time but hated himself a little for it. Deep down he knew this needed to turn the corner soon. A lot of men would jump at the invitation for sex without having to go through the motions of dating. Forget the wining and dining and just frak the girl. But not Bill Adama. Not when it came to Laura Roslin.

If they didn’t start getting real about their feelings they would never have a chance. They’d slide into permanent frak buddy territory or burn out like a falling star.

There was no denying that he had strong feelings for Laura. Thoughts about her flowed through his mind all of the time. If something made him smile, he wanted to know if she’d smile too. He was lovesick. She however, was still closed off towards him emotionally. Every time he tried to talk about well, anything she would swiftly change the tone of the conversation. Not always the subject, but always the tone. She was quick to default back to sarcasm or flirting. She was never vulnerable. Whereas he knew that if she asked him to, he would fillet himself in front of her. And he was starting to feel like he was a living breathing sex toy. He wanted to call her on it. He knew there was more between them than sex. But he didn’t work up the nerve to say anything. Probably because she had him by the balls. He was powerless against her sexual desire. It was pathetic.

Pathetic or not, he could not refuse her latest call. “Bill” her voice over the phone low and sexy. “On the first floor of my building there is a bathroom all the way down the east corridor. Meet me there at 12:30?”

Of course he was going to oblige. Despite any misgivings he had about their current routine, he wasn’t willing to risk changing it. From just the sound of her voice, his dick was hard. He’d deal with talking to her after.

As an officer, his uniform and ID badge got him past security in the government building. Today he’d met with his COs so he was in his duty blues, a lucky coincidence since this uniform had much better access than his fatigues for a quick frak. 

He found the bathroom and nervously walked in. The last stall on the left was where he’d been told to go. There was another worker at the sink so Bill busied himself by washing and drying his hands until the man left.

He tried to peek through the stalls to make sure nobody else was there before he pushed open the door and saw her. The picture she presented with her perfectly quaffed hair and tailored outfit was sinfully tainted by her silk underwear balled up in her fist and hooded eyes. She grabbed his uniform at his chest, pulled him into the stall and was on him like a lioness. His hands grasped her hips as his mouth pummeled hers. She threw her arms up over her head in surrender, begging him to take control. She gasped and pushed her hips into his, the momentum shooting them across the stall. He flipped their positions so that she was against the wall. She was gasping and moaning desperately, trying to grind into him. He hoisted her up by her thighs, his hands roaming under her tight skirt. Feeling that she was already wet and ready he began fumbling for the zipper of his pants. 

She was clinging onto him like her life hung in the balance, when he finally pushed inside of her an unguarded smile spread across her face. From this angle and in order to stay upright his thrusts were shallow, but in spite of the limitations from their position, it was still so so good. She let out a loud moan that he was sure the entire building heard. Good, he thought. He Wanted everyone in the colonies to know that Bill Adama could make Laura Roslin lose control, that he knew how to make her unravel, and how to make her smile. Even while thrusting inside of her right now he was fantasizing about seeing her smile. He changed the angle a little, pulling her thigh up higher, knowing from past experience that it would send her over the edge. It worked. She came so hard that her internal undulations pulled his orgasm out of him.   
He felt like the frakking man because of it.

Still joined together but with him softening inside her, she was still keyed up. Making little soft moans as the aftershocks of her orgasm rolled through her body. He was fascinated with every sound and tremble she gave. He touched her jaw and kissed her there, trying to soothe her as she came down. She kissed him back, catching his mouth with hers as though his lips were an oasis in the desert. It was a kiss that reassured him. It was not a kiss between two people who didn’t care deeply for one another.

Breathing became necessary, that was the only reason why their lips parted. He still wanted to soothe her. A passage from one of his favorite books came to mind. He whispered the prose as they stayed pressed together, neither one wanting their joining to come to an end. If he let his own thoughts out instead of reciting Taylo’s, it would be too much for her. A declaration of love would only scare her and push her away. 

“From the moment I open my eyes, she’s in my blood, like cheap wine. Bitter and sweet, tinged with regret. I'll never be free of her, nor do I want to be, for she is what I am.” 

“All that is, should always be." They said together.

Damn he loved this woman.

****

Not knowing what to do with herself regarding her feelings for the Major, she tried to shake them off with a good frak. Or ten. Those fraks were all with Bill of course, and each tryst only led to more feelings for him. It was borderline shameless how she couldn’t hold herself back. Like right now for example, she just came in the middle of the day, at work, in a bathroom stall, and she still wanted more. She kissed him afterwards like she wanted to suck all of him inside of her, like she wanted to consume him. And instead of running away from the crazy lady who made daily booty calls he held her and stroked her cheek, kissed her temple, treated her like a lady. And quoted literature. Which to Laura, had to be the single sexiest thing that had ever happened to her. 

She was out of breath, not to mention out of ideas as to how she could stop herself from falling in love with his man. This man who was everything she thought she didn’t want:   
he was short, but he was the perfect height for frakking her against the wall; he wasn’t classically handsome, but she was desperately attracted to him; he had kids, but the way he lit up when he talked about them was endearing; politically he was her opposite, but arguing the issues with him only sharpened her points of view. He made her better. This man made her better. Damn.

“I have to tell you something.” He said as they started to put themselves back together.

“Okay.”

“I’m shipping out again next week, Laura.”

Her stomach dropped and she thought she might faint. “Oh?”

“For five months.”

Oh frak oh frak oh frak. She couldn’t believe it. She stumbled a little against the wall. She would not cry. “Oh.” Her voice thankfully remained steady.

“I just got my orders today.” He stepped closer and rested his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry.”

Being abandoned was not exactly a new feeling for Laura. Her dad left for a new wife and family, her mom died of cancer. Obviously no past boyfriend had stuck around. She was used to being left behind. But the familiarity of it didn’t stop it from hurting.

She walked out of the stall, needing cover. “Don’t apologize, it's your job.” She said as she walked towards the sinks.

“It is my job” he followed. His footsteps were heavy and coming towards her faster than she wanted them to. But she couldn't run. She had to put on a brave face. After all, she knew he would be going eventually. 

“Yes. Well I suppose it’s something I knew was coming. The silver lining is that we had fun while it lasted.”

“While it lasted. Is it over?” 

“Did you hear me say that?”

“No.”

“I’m trying to tell you that I understand and it’s okay.” They we’re looking at each other in the mirrors over the sinks. Somehow to Laura that was easier than turning and facing him. “We can still see each other before you go. I have a half-hour between meetings in two days. We can meet here again.”

“Before I leave for five months, you want to make sure you get as much out of me as possible?”

“Well, yes. And I suppose you do too. Though I’m guessing you’re going to be on a co-ed vessel?”

“I’m not interested in other women, Laura.”

“You might be a few weeks down the road.”

“I won’t. What about you?”

“I won’t be interested in other women either.”

“Can you please be serious for a minute while we talk about this?” His voice was just below a yell as he turned away from the mirror to face her. She did not move.

“I don’t think we have a lot to discuss here Bill. We won’t see each other for five months and there isn’t anything either of us can do. Obviously we can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing.” She was pretending to fix her hair, though it was fine the way it was.

“Which is what? What have we been doing?”

“Frakking.” She shrugged noncommittally, avoiding his gaze in the mirror.

“So, to you I’m just some plaything?” He was clearly hurt by her feigned indifference.

“Plaything?” She met his eyes through the mirror then. Under any other circumstance his choice of words would have made her laugh.

“Boy Toy, Jock Stick, Frak Friend, whatever you want to call it. I can’t be that for you.” 

Everything she tried to say so far was coming out wrong. She didn't want to make him feel bad for leaving. “I don’t think of you like that, Bill. I just wanted to try and make it easier for you.”

“Nothing about this is easy, Laura.” That was the problem. Laura didn’t do this.

“So what do you want from me, Bill? Some grand declaration?” She did not get caught up in men. She didn’t swoon. She didn’t get have complicated relationships. 

“No.” He said calmly. She was stronger than this. She could beat this.

“Well what the frak do you want?”

“I was hoping you could own up to your feelings and not be so gods damn stubborn and dismissive.”

“Fine. You want me to tell you that I don’t like it? I don’t. You want me to tell you that I’m going to miss you. I am.”

“Miss me? Or just miss the sex?” His voice was so quiet and full of something, hope? She felt a tear run down her cheek.

“Both.”

“Me too.” He stood behind her and hugged her waist. They looked at each other in the mirror together. It was the first time Laura saw herself as a part of a couple. 

“We do look good together. Don’t we Bill?”

He kissed her jaw and looked back in the mirror. “I always look good.” She laughed and saw how his face lit up at the sound.”

“There’s a going away party. My boys wanted to throw one. Will you be there?”

“You want me to meet your kids? Who are you going to say I am?” As a former teacher, she knew students who had parents with a revolving door of boyfriends and girlfriends running in and out of their lives. She didn’t want to do that to Bill's boys.

“How about you’ll be Miss Laura? They don’t need to know details. But I want you to meet them. And I want you to be there. Aside from my boys you’ll be the thing I’ll miss the most while I’m gone.”

“That easy, eh?”

“It is. Trust me.” Looking into his eyes while trying to argue with him was impossible. Every single time she looked into his blue eyes she thought she might drown in the sincerity. 

“Okay, I do.” It was the truth, she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s a scene in the movie You Can Thank Me Later with Mary McDonnell which served as inspiration for this chapter. If you haven’t seen it, there’s a clip on YouTube. But I’m guessing if you’re reading this...you’ve seen it ;)


	10. 10

-10-

Picon. The colony known for its military base and convention center. And not much else. Bill would say they were known for the Picon Panthers pyramid team. They were dreadful, but he was a lifelong fan. He told Laura “to love the Panthers was to know true heartache”. She really admired him for his loyalty and optimism. She missed him while sitting alone in a hotel bar on Picon, the game playing on TV in the background. Thinking about Bill, she felt like now she knew true heartache too. It had been 12 weeks since he shipped out. These were the longest 12 weeks of her life. And there were eight more to go. In eight weeks she could see him face to face and try to explain, try to make things right. To atone. 

His going away party had been an unmitigated disaster. The choices she made that day felt like the smart thing to do, though it was probably not the right thing. If it had been right, she would not have had to talk herself into it. But she made her choices and now she was living with the consequences.

The party was a backyard barbecue at his ex-wife’s house. She felt like a fish out of water and like she was on enemy turf. Not that Carolanne was the enemy, she was perfectly nice. It just seemed odd, Laura could not help her memories of the interactions she witnessed between her mother and step-mother. Both women were good people, but they despised each other. There was so much hurt and animosity, having shared the same feelings for the same man. She did not want that kind of relationship with anyone. Ever. But Carolanne had been all smiles and seemed to know exactly who Laura was as soon as she got there. As for Laura, she decided to reserve judgement and practice her political skills with Bill's ex-wife. Carolanne (or Caro as she was called by everyone), had moved on from Bill and seemed to question Laura as though screening her to make sure she wouldn’t break his heart, she wasn’t sizing her up as competition. In some ways, her interaction with the blonde felt more like a first date than that awkward dinner she had with Bill months ago. It made Laura wonder how much Bill had told Caro about her. She hadn’t told anyone about Bill.

More painful still, knowing what she was going to do before leaving, was meeting the boys. They were pink-cheeked and sweaty from running with their friends before they came over to where Laura was sitting a little away from the other attendees. 

“Are you my dad’s girlfriend?” The fairer boy she knew must be Leland asked Laura.

“My mom has a boyfriend, his name is Alex. He’s over there.” The younger boy, Zak pointed.

“And we asked dad if he has a girlfriend since mom has a boyfriend.”

“My dad said he has a friend and that she is a girl and that she’s pretty and has red hair and that we might meet her today.”

And we don’t know you. We know everybody else here.” Leland said.

They both spoke very fast. It had been a while since she was bombarded with such precocious youths. She missed teaching, and was out of practice. Her jaw was slack, at a temporary loss as to how she should answer. “Oh he said that did, did he?” She asked.

“Yeah, he did. But he didn’t say girlfriend, he said he has a friend who’s a girl.” Leland said to Zak.

“What’s the difference?” Zak asked Lee. “You are pretty. But your hair isn’t red. It's dark with like, red sparks.”

“No dummy. She has red hair. Red hair doesn’t mean red like her dress, it means red like that.” Leland said pointing.

“Boys!” Bill called as he brought all of them cold drinks. “Don’t bombard Miss Laura with questions.”

“Dad is she your girlfriend?” Leland asked.

“Miss Laura can you help me open this?” Zak handed Laura the juice box his dad had just given him. He came right up to her, placing his forearm on her leg. He looked just like his father.

“I think I can do that Zak.”

“You know my name!?” He smiled

“Sure I do. You’re Zak and that’s your brother Leland.”

“Lee. Nobody calls him Le-lend” Zak told her.

“If you know that, then you are his girlfriend, or girl that’s his friend. What’s the difference, dad?” Lee asked.

Bill chuckled and looked at Laura with an apologetic smile. “The difference is,” he paused, clearly searching for an answer. He looked at Laura and she almost burst out laughing. “The difference is that you have to ask someone to be your girlfriend.”

“You should ask her dad. She’s really pretty.” Zak said.

“Yeah and she seems pretty nice.” Lee added.

“Thank you, Zak. And thank you Lee.” Laura said, chuckling.

“Dad!!! Ask her.” Zak whined before the two boys began chanting “Ask her! Ask her!”

“Boys. It’s something you ask in private, okay. Now be good hosts and make sure all the other guests are okay.”

“Okay!” Lee said before sprinting off towards the other guests, Zak chasing after him.

“Sorry about that.” 

“That’s alright. They’re both adorable. And smart.”

“And they have good taste in women. That’s a nice color in you.”

Her stomach flipped when she saw how he was looking at her. 

“Thank you.” She said, looking down at her dress and adjusting the fabric. She knew what she had to do now. She was about to tell him but he spoke first.

“So it seems I have something to ask.”

Oh no. “Bill, before you do that. I think maybe we’ve let this get out of hand.” She saw the shift from hope to dread in his eyes. “We’ve only really known each other for a few months. And now we’re not going to be able to see each other for longer than that.”

He started at her. His jaw clenching and unclenching. She’d not seen him like this before. “Might I remind you, that you kept calling me.” He accused her with a cold tone in his voice. 

Feeling a little intimidated by him but keeping an even temper she swallowed pressed on. “I did. I know I did that. And I thought that maybe, I would get you out of my system. If we just -“

“I told you I’m not interested in being your Jock Stick.”

“And I agree. I don’t want that either. But I can’t be your Lady in Waiting either, Bill.”

“Is there someone else?”

“Gods no.” She shuddered at the thought. “But I don’t think we know each other well enough to have a long distance, you know, thing.”

“Relationship. The word you are looking for is ‘relationship’. And I think you’re wrong. I think you know that what we have between us is different.”

“Maybe it is. But-“

“And you’re scared of it so you’re using my leaving as a means for you to get out of it. Just like you were using sex to ignore it.”

She knew he was right. She hated that he knew it. How could he know her so well? Nobody knew her that well. And who the hell was he to call her out like that!?!

“Good luck on your tour of duty Bill.” She said before walking away without a backward glance. She cried the whole ride home.

The rest of the past 12 weeks weren’t much better.

****

Shore leave was supposed to be a good time. 

“Rest and relaxation? More like drinks and tail.” Saul said. “We’re going off base for both. No good liquor on base. And no women worth frakkin’ either.”

“More like no woman you haven’t already frakked.” Joked Bill.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. But tonight isn’t about me. I’m your wingman. And it’s my mission to get you laid.”

The thought made his stomach churn. He was devastated after Laura left the party. But he didn’t call her before he left. She’d made herself clear. And he wasn’t going to beg. One thing they definitely had in common was their stubborn nature.

Saul and Bill made their way downtown to the swanky hotel district where single women on work trips hang out “trolling for sailors” as Saul put it.

The bar was loud and crowded. Bill picked a seat with a view of the Panthers game. Saul tried to cheer him up with drinks and a running commentary on every woman who walked past. Who was ripe for the picking, who he wouldn’t frak with Bill’s dick, and who could help him get over that ‘‘red headed bitch”.

“Don’t talk about her like that. You don’t even know her.” He grumbled.

“Exactly. You weren’t even with her long enough for your best friend to meet her. You need to get some strange and get over it already.”

“I don’t want to get over it.” He sounded like a petulant child even to his own ears. He didn’t care. This was his pity party.

“Frak, Bill. You got your dick wet a week after splitting up with Caro. And she’s a hot piece of ass, rich, and one of the best drinking buddies I’ve ever had. What the hell is it about this Laura woman?”

“I'm in love with her.” Finally giving that thought voice felt like a weight off his chest. He laughed at himself. “I need a drink.”

“Gods damn right you do. Barkeep!” Saul hollered. “I’m sorry, Bill.”

“Yeah, me too.”

In true Bill and Saul style, Saul was the one who ended up drunk. He teased Bill that if he was too lovesick to drink there was no cure other than a young piece of ass. Luckily the Panther game mixed with the booze provided a good enough distraction for Saul. And after a while his attempts to find Bill a one night stand abated.

***

The Panthers won the game. Laura had never cared about pyramid before tonight, but sitting and watching the game made her feel somehow closer to Bill. She wished she could call him and tell him about the third period. He would have loved to see them come back like that, and she would do anything to hear his voice. She had a pleasant buzz on, so she paid her tab and started making her way back to her hotel across the street. She hadn’t dared drink there tonight for fear of Richard lurking over her. She was angry enough with herself that she was afraid she might go ahead and sleep with him just to punish herself. She was excellent at self-destruction in the form of reckless affairs. 

Ruminating on her shitty love life had not been her intention for the night. But at least she was going back to her room alone. She took two steps inside her hotel’s lobby before she saw him. Or was she drunker than she thought and hallucinating?

“Bill?” A person three steps away might not have heard her say it, but from across the atrium Bill’s head whipped around as though she screamed. It was him. He was here. On Picon. They were both on Picon in the same hotel lobby at the same time. Out of 50 billion human beings.

He was with another man with thinning sandy blonde hair. He didn’t say a word to him before he started walking towards her. She was frozen on a little staircase that led down to the bar and concierge desk. None of the other people milling about had any idea what kind of miracle was taking place. He walked with purpose. She was scared of what he might say or do when he reached her. It seemed to take forever for him to get to her, the anticipation making her mind race for each possible outcome. He might yell at her. He might just walk past her like she didn’t exist. Hell, she wouldn’t blame him if he slapped her, though she knew he would not. What he did was look her straight in the eye. A look of forgiveness in the deep blue. Her breathing became more relaxed as he stopped one stair below her. She was about to speak, not even knowing what word she would say first but it didn't matter. Before a word could form his hands encircled her ribs, and though she was now taller than he because of the steps, his grip still made her feel petite. His hands on her brought warmth and reassurance. And then he kissed her. It still took her by surprise, how good of a kisser he was, but the shock subsided in a moment. Her hands floated up to either side of his head. She held him there, just to make sure he was real. Her body tingled at the feel of his slightly longer mane of thick hair. Maybe everyone else in the lobby had stopped to stare at them, or maybe nobody cared at all. But she cared. This was the moment she would remember forever. This kiss so full of forgiveness and promise. They pulled apart to see each other for just a moment before embracing. His head ensconced in the crook of her neck, her arms holding onto him in a warm welcome.

“Is it really you?” Less like formed words and more of a susurrus of moving air between her lips and his ear.

***

“It’s me.” Bill held on, a pure joy thrumming through his body with Laura in his arms. The odds of them meeting here were so slim, he was beginning to think they could be fated to be together. But he didn’t believe in fate. “First the coffee shop, then the gala, and now Picon? You really are stalking me, aren’t you?” He joked without letting her go.

“Believe me if I could have stowed away onto your Battlestar I would have. I thought about it.” She ran her fingers over his shoulder, toying with the fabric.

“I would have liked to see you try. You know you would have wound up in the brig.”

She smiled and looked up for a moment, imagining. “At least you would have known where I was. You would have been close.” There was something strangely erotic imagining them on either side of the bars. But she had made a hellish prison for them both these past 12 weeks already. And they’d had plenty of quick and dirty fraks against walls. 

Grabbing his hand she began marching them towards the elevators, he willingly followed.

“I take it this is the famous Laura Roslin?” Saul called out as they almost passed him without notice.

“Laura I’d like you to meet Captain Saul Tigh.”

“Captain, I’ve heard a lot about you. It is my pleasure.”

“I’ve heard about you too. We almost met at his kids’ party but you ripped his heart out, stomped on it, and walked away before we got a chance.”

“Saul!” Bill nearly barked.

“Lady, I don’t know if you’ve got ice water in your veins or if you’re just a naive little school teacher. Either way don’t do that to him again. He deserves better than that. I’ll see you back on base at 0800 Bill.” And he stormed off.

Laura looked stunned at Tigh’s audacity. 

“Hey.” He said, pulling her into his arms. “Hey don’t listen to him. He’s a mean drunk and -“

“No Bill. I deserved that. I deserve worse. I’m so so sorry. I would never want to hurt you.” Her voice stayed quite steady, but tears ran down her cheeks.

It was both a bad and a promising sight. Laura had so rarely shown any emotion to Bill. He didn’t want to see her cry, but at least it was proof she cared. He kissed her tear streaked cheeks and held onto her, never wanting to let her go.


	11. 11

Soon they were kissing again. In the middle of the crowded hotel lobby. It went from a kiss of sweet comfort to one of deep lust and longing in no time. “We should -“

“Get a room?”

“Frak yes.”

As explosive as their lobby kiss was, it had nothing in what took place as soon as the elevator doors closed. The desperate need to be close to each other once again reared its head. They were shamefully all over each other. The doors opened and they were about to rush out to get to her room but were stopped by two boys who couldn’t have been older than 14 stepping in. A glance at the numbers told them they were still more than ten floors shy of their destination. The one boy pushed a button to three stories above their current stop. Laura attempted to stifle a groan of frustration. She glanced over at Bill who looked more than a little irritated by the delay. He looked kinda cute with his face so serious. The silence in the small space was deafening. Laura felt a surge of giggles coming on. The elevator stopped again and the boys stepped out. As the doors closed Bill and Laura could hear their exchange.

“Holy frak did you see that dude’s boner?”

“Omg that thing was freaking huge, they are totally about to go do it!”

Their laughter rang down the hall of the hotel and Laura completely lost it. She was doubled over with laughter at the situation. 

“Glad you think this is funny.” But he was smiling too.

“Come on Bill, it is a little funny.” She ribbed him.

“I don’t care even if it is at my expense, I love it when you laugh.” 

She closed her lips self-consciously but the smile was futile to conceal. Funny her embarrassment wasn’t from being caught making out by those children, but from Bill’s compliment. To cover her vulnerability, she reverted back to making out with him. But he resisted after a moment.

“Hey. I think we can slow it down a little.”

“But I want you.” She whispered in his ear.

“And I want you. Apparently everyone can see how badly.” He said grinning. She doubted anything could embarrass him.

“So what’s the problem?”

“I think we should set some ground rules.”

She squeezed her eyes shut at an attempt to resist rolling them. Not that she thought he was wrong, she just didn’t want to deal with it because she was so turned on. Especially when his strong hands were holding her hips and he’d just finished kissing her into near-incoherence.

“Okay” she managed to say.

When they entered her room it became apparent that this would not be easy. Almost the entire space was taken up by a huge bed. And both of them wanted to be in it. With each other. Right frakking now.

Laura cleared her throat. “So we should talk. First.”

“We should.”

They just looked at each other. Neither really knowing how to begin. Laura licked her lips, a nervous habit that caused Bill’s eyes to settle on her mouth. 

“Or we can talk after.” She said before kissing him again, his lips tender against her own. When her hands slid down his sides to tug at his shirt he stopped her with his hands to her wrists. 

“No. I’m going to sit there.” He pointed to the far end of the bed. “You sit here.” And he guided her to sit.

She had to laugh. “We’re ridiculous. We need to be separated. Or chaperoned.”

“I’ll sit on my hands.” He laughed with her. 

“So what are these rules you mentioned?”

“Not rules per se, but want to impress upon you that I don’t want to have a casual, sexual relationship. I don’t think you do either. I realize my behavior could be used as evidence to the contrary. But as soon as I’m alone with you I can’t help it.” Gods she thought nothing could make this man blush, but here he was. It was quite possibly the cutest thing she had ever seen.

“I know what you mean.” She said, tucking her palms under her thighs. “And I don’t want that, either. I am, well, I’m not good at relationships. As you have seen. And I don’t want to hurt you. But I gotta say,” she steeled herself, “I really missed you.”

“Me too.”

“And not just the sex. Though, I have missed that too.”

He closed his eyes and nodded once in agreement. He did not say anything.

“So what do we do?”

“Can we agree to try and be more than what we have been to each other?” He scooted closer, the tips of his fingers inches from hers on the bed.

“Yes.” She answered closing the distance, her small hand covering his. “And we can talk more about it. But can I….” she reached up to caress his rough and scarred face, a hint of a 5 o’clock shadow prickling the pads of her fingers. And who knows how, but they were kissing again. 

***

At least he got her to agree to try. That was all he could ask for at this point. He partially blamed himself for things not working when they were on Caprica. At any time he could have called her out more seriously for her disconnect. But as he’d already admitted, he was helpless to resist her. In order to make up for his mistakes, he was going to take a different approach tonight. This time was going to be different than any other encounter they shared before. 

Instead of ripping off clothes, he stood up and undressed himself while she watched. Then she stood to join him. They kissed and smiled when they could, but weren’t glued together like fumbling teenagers. Once fully naked, he gathered her up in his arms and they swayed slightly to imaginary music. To simply feel her from head to toe, skin on skin, was more satisfying than any hurried rough frak they had before. He lifted her hair and kissed her neck, ran his fingers across her back in soothing light patterns. He felt her shiver under his touch. Maybe her hard shell was softening. He was glad for it.

He knew how to make her come with precision and accuracy. But tonight he wanted to develop on that. He wanted to get her to open herself up to him. He wanted to not just give her pleasure but to give her his heart. Through the fog of his desire he wondered for a moment how he might literally give her a piece of himself so that he could always be with her in some way. He was running low on blood to his brain so he let his instincts take over as they joined together.

****

She knew from the first time back in his apartment that he could go for a long time. But tonight he seemed to go on and on, just as she begged him to.

“Don’t stop.” She pleaded.

He turned his head to kiss behind her ear. “I’m never going to stop,” his gravelly voice whispered with authority. “As long as you’ll have me, I’m never going to stop.” 

With that she threw her head back and closed her eyes so she could focus on how he moved. She held onto him and met his thrusts, pushing herself back against him. Her mind started to drift away from her; she only knew the reverberation of him through her body, his weight, his warmth, the impact of his cock inside her. She barely recognized the noises she was making as her own, all of them sounding out his name in some way.

When she opened her eyes and found he had been watching her she wanted to resist the eye contact but could not break it. She lost all sense of self. She was they. They were one. His presence was so deep she thought it might permeate some otherworldly part of her. That kind of intimacy was something she’d never ever experienced, it scared her a little. It must have shown in her eyes, because he started to offer soothing words to encourage her, letting her know that she could let go. She relaxed into herself, into him. Her orgasm so exquisite, she didn’t think she’d ever be the same after it. He tumbled into his own release with her. It would have been impossible not to. 

She’d thought it before after being with him, but she thought it again: she had never come so hard in her life.

They were laying side by side now. Her heart was hammering, her skin slick with sweat. The recent memory of his promise to never stop had her lips upturned in an easy smile. A little early to reminisce, she thought to herself. But it was such a happy, sexy memory.

He whispered something against her shoulder, she couldn’t tell what.

“What?” she whispered, sliding her leg to press more firmly against him. She could not muster the energy to move any more than that at the moment.

“You’re incredible. The way you just came like that.”

“It was a team effort.”

“I mean, you always have good ones. But that was something else.”

A single “Ha!” Came out at his description. “I don’t always, just so you know. It’s only with you.”

He seemed to take that statement into serious consideration before turning on his side to look her over. “You mean you don’t usually come as much or you don’t usually come that hard?”

“Both. Bill, I don’t usually come unless I’m alone.” His smile was smug as frak, but he’d earned it. And she was telling the truth. “Guess you live up to the Viper Jock reputation.”

“You think just any pilot could do that?” Gods, he was cocky.

“Only one way to find out...” she joked wickedly.

“Like hell.” He said before his lips descended and kissed her possessively. 

Her hand slid up to the back of his neck and into his hair, pulling him back slightly. With their lips nearly touching she confessed to him, “No. You don’t have to worry, Bill. There’s no comparison. It’s only for you. I am yours.” Those words earned her a naked Bill Adama stretched over her entire body. Their hands interlocked. It had never felt better to truly surrender.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has left comments. The elevator scene is from another lost fic that i do not recall the name of or the author. If you recognise it from another work, please let me know. 
> 
> I officially do not remember the rest of ATIMU, so I will now have to come up with some original thoughts....


	12. 12

-12-

Bill and his father never got along. They were fundamentally different. But one thing that Bill respected about his father was in regards to his statements about love. He was remembering the conversation now. Or was he dreaming about it? The images were so vivid it felt like it happened yesterday.

“How can you tell if you love someone?” Bill asked his father maybe sometime around the age of 9.

“Son, you’ll know when you love someone when you think about them, all the time. And when you think about them, you want to protect them. You’d take a bullet for that person because you want them to be safe more than you want to save yourself. If you have those kinds of thoughts about a person, you love them.”

“So if you think you love someone -“

“You love them. That’s what love is. Thoughts.”

By his father’s standards, Bill loved every crew member under his command. He thought about his pilots all the time, and he’d take a hit for any of them. Part of his job was to love these people. It was his duty to love. And Bill was a dutiful soldier.

Trickier for Bill was interpersonal, intimate love. This was the kind of love that never seemed to end well for Bill. Of course he loved his sons deeply, he had loved his ex-wife as best he could, he loved his father and the siblings he’d never even met. And then there were his feelings towards Laura. 

He was dreaming of her now. Or was she here too? Her pretty auburn hair, her quiet confidence, her adorable laugh, her hands touching him with tenderness.

His lovely dream of Laura was interrupted. When he woke up he was in pain and disoriented. For a few moments he was unsure if he was under attack. He couldn’t move the way he wanted to. Eventually from listening to both familiar and unfamiliar voices around him he understood that he was in sickbay. He did not know why he was here. He’d much rather go back to sleep and continue to dream about love and Laura. So he did.

Days later he really woke up. The first coherent thoughts he had were about the people he loved. Had any of his crew been injured or killed? Did his boys know where he was? When could he see them? And Laura. He wanted Laura.

When he found out that everyone else from his crew was okay and that only he had been hit with friendly fire, he felt a deep sense of relief. Then came the fear. He had an overwhelming sense that the people he loved in his personal life might not know how he felt. And he’d nearly lost his life before he could make sure they knew. He was going to have to rectify that ASAP. From now on he would be a better father, a better friend, son, and co-parent. And a better... whatever he was to Laura. 

They’d left things rather undefined back on Picon. True to Bill’s pattern of denying his feelings, he didn’t make any grand proclamation of love before leaving. He did his damndest to show her though. Several times. 

He thought she knew. Maybe. He was too tired to wrap his mind around it just now. And sleep took him again.

This was how he started and ended his days now. With Laura on his mind. After the fog of the medicine waned, and his disorientation from sickbay’s staff and the beeping monitors subsided, he started to analyze his relationship with Laura. 

His feelings about Laura Roslin went way beyond that definition his father gave him. He could not quantify how close it came to the love he felt for others. Because there really was no good comparison. The love for his children was unparalleled. Nothing could trump that kind of love. But how he felt about Laura was different. And special. He loved Laura. He knew it now for sure. And he hated it. Being in love was quite a miserable thing to be. Especially when she was so far away from him. And he had no idea if she loved him back. It made him ache inside deeper than the bullet holes. 

He was overdue to be back home by more than a week now. What would she think? That he was ignoring her? That he didn’t want to see her?  
He had to get in touch.

****

Laura had missed Bill terribly. Some days she pondered if running into him on Picon had been a dream. This world was cruel, but not so cruel to have that not be real. Though it did seem like something out of a romantic novel; and then of course it turned into something out of a smutty novel. She could blush just thinking about it. 

The memories had been sustaining her through these last months while waiting for Bill to come home. Unfortunately they had not been able to have much correspondence. He had sent one letter which made clear his intentions for when he returned. That letter made her blush even more. And it made her giddy, knowing that he was longing for her as much as she was for him. But that had been sent weeks ago, and he should have been home by now. Her mind raced with horrible possibilities. Maybe he decided against pursuing a relationship with her. Every day this past week she thought that maybe today would be the day he would appear. And every day she heard nothing. 

The beautiful hydrangea outside of her condo seemed to mock her. It was flourishing. The petals now served as a reminder that the man who gave it to her might have given up on her. If she could take back all of her indecisive and aloof choices she made, she would. She just wanted him back in her life. But Laura was nothing if not a champion at compartmentalizing. After a week of pining over Bill and his lack of contact, she made up her mind to not dwell and tried her best to move forward without him. It was a great loss, and it hurt terribly. But she knew that his ship was currently in dry dock over Delphi because in one of her weaker moments she made some calls at work to see if there had been a delay in the Battlestar’s arrival home. Alas, the ship was safely back. But there was no word from the only soldier she knew who had been aboard. And she was not about to go chasing after any man, no matter how much she lov- no matter what.

Several days later, after nights of suppressing self-pity and many bottles of wine, Laura heard a knock on her front door. She had just been preparing to indulge in a smoke, another tried and true method of avoiding her feelings. For the length of time it took her to answer the door she allowed herself to get her hopes up that Bill might be her visitor.

She was shocked to find another Adama on the other side of her door. Or rather, a former Adama.

“Carolanne?” She asked.

“Hello Laura. Might I come inside for a moment?”

She didn’t know what to make of this. Carolanne was dressed smartly, her hair and makeup perfect. Laura had already changed into baggy pajamas and was sure she had wine breath. 

“Of course.” and she led Carolanne into her living room. “Can I offer you anything?” She asked, trying to keep the confusion out of her voice. 

“No. Laura. Thank you. I have a message for you. From Bill.”

This seemed unlikely. Not knowing what kind of game this petite blonde woman was playing she crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrows. “Oh?”

“Can we sit down?” Caro asked.

“Carolanne, I’m not sure what kind of game this is. If you and Bill are getting back together -”

“Please Laura, no. It's not that. Bill’s been unable to get off of the ship. There was an accident. Bill was shot.”

Whatever Laura had been expecting, it was not this. She felt like her world was collapsing all of the sudden, this was swiftly followed by a deep embarrassment for being accusatory with Caro and with her thoughts about Bill.

“Oh my Gods. Oh my Gods, Bill. Is he okay? I mean...Oh my Gods I’m so sorry. How is he? What hospital is treating him?” She started to look around for her keys. She wanted to get to him.

“Laura. Laura?” Caro kindly called her. “Let’s sit and talk for a moment.”

“No. I want to go see him. Do you know where he is?”

“Yes. But he isn’t in a hospital, Laura. He is still on The Atlantia. He was shot ten days ago. The ship is docked now but the medical staff didn’t want to move him just yet. 

“He’s still on the ship? Why? What’s his condition?” Her mind was racing.

“He was critical. He took two bullets in the chest. He had two emergency surgeries after the fact. Because of the boys, the military let me know right away. He’s been through a lot, in and out of consciousness. He almost didn’t make it. But it looks like he’s gotten over the worst of it now. And he finally woke up enough to call me and the kids this evening.”

Laura was crying now. She felt the tears run down her cheeks as she listened. “Oh my Gods the boys.”

“The boys are okay. I told them that their dad was hurt but they know he’s strong and that he’s getting better. It’s been really hard, thinking about what it would be like for them without their dad.” Caro was crying now too. Laura found herself wanting to comfort this woman who only a few minutes ago she thought of as competition, as the enemy. She hated herself for ever thinking such things. 

“One of the first things Bill asked me was to come and see you. I didn’t think to earlier because I thought -”

“That I was a cold-hearted bitch who ruined his going away party?”

“Maybe something like that.”

“I apologize if I was rude in your home. You have been nothing but kind to me. Bill and I...we’ve since reconciled. If you can believe it we ran into each other while he was on Picon for a night a few months back. Oh Gods, I can’t believe I ever pushed him away. I can’t believe I was so short sighted.” She said the last bit more to herself than to Bill’s ex-wife. But Caro sat and listened, even comforted her. “How can I see him?”

“Unless you are military, I don’t know if you can. Supposedly he will be stable for transfer out of the hospital ward on the ship within the next few days.”

“I can’t thank you enough for coming and telling me. I can’t imagine what you might think of me.” She looked down at her pajamas, and the empty wine bottle on her countertop. 

“I think you’re a lucky woman. And I hope you know what a good man Bill is. I need to get back home to the boys.”

Before she walked out of the house Laura gave Caro a hug. She hoped it conveyed the gratitude she felt. As she crossed the threshold, Caro commented on the beautiful hydrangea. Laura smiled. 

As soon as the door was closed and locked, Laura rushed to her phone. She didn’t care what time it was, this was urgent. She was antsy as the number rang. Finally the call connected and she heard his voice. 

“Richard, I need a favor.”


	13. 13

-13-

It took several days to get the proper paperwork with Richard’s help. SHe shuddered to think what may be expected as a return favor to him, but she had to get to Bill, and her desperation must have been obvious, because he did not ask too many questions. Now Laura was seated next to Bill’s cot in a dimly lit medical ward on a Battlestar. She’d never been on one before. Her initial impression was that it was cold and dark on board, and she didn’t like to think of Bill living here for an extended period. Saul was her point of contact. After their last meeting, things were not pleasant between them, but she was singularly focused on getting to Bill. When she finally saw him, she had the shock of her life. After some complications the day before her arrival, he was back on a ventilator. Seeing him with tubes everywhere, the large incision site bisecting his chest, the air being forced into his lungs by a machine, it was overwhelming. He was such a strong and powerful presence normally, now to see him helpless like this she couldn’t stop quiet tears from falling. 

She sat vigil there, doing some work, sometimes switching to the one novel she brought with her, Blood Runs At Midnight. She and Saul took shifts staying with him. On her third day aboard she walked in to see that the tubes had been removed and he was weaned off the ventilator. 

“Doctor says he will wake up when he damn well feels like it.” This was the most Saul had spoken to her in the past few days. Which was fine by her. If not for the stress of worrying over Bill, she rather enjoyed the solitude of being on board. Her mood was good now that Bill was breathing on his own. She sat by his side, reading through the analysis of standardized test questions for primary schools in Caprica City when he spoke.

“You’re a stow away?” He startled her. His voice thick and weak from lack of use. The fact that he was teasing her was a sign that his brain was working just fine. She pulled her glasses off, smiling.

“I pulled some strings, I’m here on official business. Technically.”

“There’s no official business for the Caprican school district on a battlestar. Why are you really here?”

She leaned in towards him and whispered “Caught. I’m stalking you.”

“That’s what I thought.” He grinned, closing his eyes.

“How do you feel?”

“Better, now that you’re here.” He did not reopen his eyes.

“Do you remember what happened?”

“I know I got shot. Training exercise went bad.”

“You almost died. Twice.”

“But I’m still here.”

“Thank the Gods.”

“Maybe I’d thank the Gods if I hadn’t been shot in the first place. What are you reading?”

“Standardized test questions. It’s riveting.”

“Read them to me. I think I might need more sleep.”

She giggled and started rattling off the simple questions and watched as his breathing became steady and he drifted back to sleep.

***

Their relationship had turned around a full 180°. Whereas once all they seemed to do was seek and give each other pleasure, now it was strictly hands off. Doctor’s orders. And here he was now. Smug and arrogant as ever, with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He was rattling off the plan for Bill’s care when he mentioned no sex. For at least -

“Four weeks.”

“Weeks?” They said together.

“I can see that this might...dampen the romance. But yes. Young lady, this officer had a couple of holes blown through some major blood vessels. He needs rest. That means not getting the blood pressure up. It’s a matter of life and death.”

“I understand.”

“Well you’re obviously an intelligent, well-educated young woman. I’m more worried about the Major keeping his paws to himself.”

“Doc!“

“I’m serious, Bill. I want you in bed. Resting. For at least the next month. So we’re going to need to figure out which rehab center -“

“I’m not going to a rehab center.” He grumbled.

“You need around the clock supervision for at least 2 weeks. And as much as I enjoy your sunny disposition, you can’t stay here. This bed is for sick people. And you’re no longer sick. You just need to recuperate.”

Doc left them alone and he looked at Laura. He could tell she was already planning.

“Laura I can’t ask -”

“Then don’t ask me. I’m offering. No, insisting. What’s the alternative? You can’t be home alone, you can’t have your elderly Uncles take care of you. Do you have the money for private duty care?”

“No. Carolanne -”

“You are not moving in with your ex-wife.” She spoke with certain finality. He could see that she wasn’t jealous, but that she was asserting herself. It would be incredibly complicated to move in with an ex while fostering this new(ish) relationship with Laura. And he took it as a good sign that she was steadfast on this issue.

“What about your work?”

“I have a ton of time saved up. If you hadn’t noticed, I’m a workaholic, I haven’t taken many vacations in the last, well, ever. Also, I can work from home.”

“And you’re willing to use that time to take care of me.”

“I am. I want to.”

“I won’t say no.”

“Good.”

It was decided. Laura was going to take care of Bill during his convalescence. He wasn’t sure about her nursing skills, but he was damned happy that she wanted to do this for him. He was very much looking forward to the sponge baths, and he told her so.

“Bill! None of that, you heard the doctor. We’ll be forced to contain ourselves.”

“I guess we’ll soon find out how compatible we are outside of the bedroom.”

She sighed and shook her head. “You already know that we are.”

“I’m just glad you do too.”

“I think I always did.”

****

His body was a furnace. She hated being cold at night, so sharing her bed for sleep pleased her. 

Tonight she woke up because the bed seemed to be vibrating. The clock said 0234. When she came to her senses she reached out for Bill and found that he was burning hot and trembling.

“Oh my Gods.”

She scrambled oddly across him to reach for the thermometer on his bedside table. Flicking on the reading lamp she aimed the probe at his temple. 101.9°. The paperwork said to call if he got to 102°. She had to handle this fast.

“Bill? Bill, wake up.”

“Cylons on board.” He said with a worrisome weakness in his voice.

“Bill you have a fever and I need you to wake up enough just to swallow some pills. I’m going to get them.” She ran to the medicine cabinet, practically shaking from fear. She wasn’t a real nurse! What if she messed this up?

She came back to the bed with enough water to swallow the medicine. He was sitting up a little more now, but he looked awful. Pale, sweaty, his eyes glazed over. She was really worried. 

“Bad dreams.” he muttered.

“I’m sorry. Take these. Swallow them. I’m going to get a wet washcloth.”

“You’re finally gonna give me a sponge bath?” He wagged his eyebrows.

“Oh for Lord's sake you could be dying and you’re still flirting!” She would laugh if she wasn’t so terrified.

“You were in the dream.”

“Oh yeah? The bad one?” She said while dabbing his forehead with the cool cloth. When he was sufficiently cooled off, she scooted back onto the bed. She sat up against the headboard and he moved so that his head rested in her lap. 

“We were running. For our lives. Everyone’s, really.” 

“Running where? I haven’t run in ages.” She stroked his hair as he told her more. 

“No not _running_ running. Escaping. Running around the universe. Trying to find Earth.”

“Earth? And here I thought you were an atheist.”

“I am. But the dream was so real.” He looked up at her. “And I was so in love with you.”

All of her thoughts came to a sudden halt. He wasn’t in love with her now, was he? She knew, without a doubt, he would have left this detail out if he wasn’t feverish. She decided not to dwell and let him off the hook.

“Well what can I say, I’m rather lovable.”

“I don’t know about that. But you’re a lot of things, Roslin.” He tried to pinch her thigh, teasing her.

“Oh. I see. Okay. Hands to yourself, Major.” 

“Also in the dream you were much older.”

“Older than you?”

“No. I was old too. I was the Old Man. But you were in charge.” 

“Sounds like my kind of dream. So we were running from Cylons, trying to find Earth, and you loved me. Did I love you back?” She asked, bracing herself.

“You were trying your best. Kinda like now.”

Laura really did not know what to say to this. “Did we find Earth?”

“You woke me up before we got there. I wanted to find it. But also, I didn’t.”

“Why not?”

“I think because I liked flying through space with you. And finding Earth would mean it was over.” Exhaustion was creeping back into his voice. His temperature feeling almost back to normal.

“You really are a hopeless romantic, Bill.”

“Just with you. I love you.”

“Go back to sleep, Bill.” She said sweetly, her heart feeling like it had swollen to the point that it was taking up her entire chest. He had already drifted off. She held him close for the rest of the night.


	14. 14

-14-

Seeing the curve of her breast and the profile of her face bathed in moonlight, he’d never felt so damned lucky. 

He suffered no more fevers, but spent a lot of time awake at night. Being in bed most of the day - almost every day, meant it was difficult to stick to a normal sleep schedule. But he sure didn’t mind being awake at night with his current view. Laura was next to him, sleeping peacefully. She kicked the covers off of her. He noticed she did this almost every night, and then she would end up snuggling closer to him for warmth. It was adorable. If ever he slept through this ritual, in the morning he was disappointed he missed it. 

As it turned out, Laura was actually a very good nurse. He asked her where she learned how to take care of patients so well and they ended up having a conversation about her experience with her late mother. He could see how much she worshiped her mom just by the way she talked about her. She grew up wanting to be her. A well-loved and well-respected teacher who was steadfastly independent after heartbreak. But Laura wasn’t Judith. As smart and as capable as she was, she was never going to be a woman who won a contest for popularity. Her intrinsic personality was far too subtle. Her warmth came off as ingenuine in a group setting. Hence why her career took her into administration. She was incredibly self-aware when it came to this. She even knew that the reason she never married was because she had lived through her father’s infidelity and her parents divorce as a pre-teen. Those years were formative for trust building. Her mother had no way of hiding the anguish she went through from Laura. And the poor girl was conflicted. She adored her father but idolized her mom. It was a miracle she ever dated anyone in the first place after that. As tough as she seemed, Laura’s heart was like a package labeled fragile; and Bill knew that he needed to take care not to break it. 

Not that he intended to. In fact, he was humbled by being entrusted with it. No that it was official. Laura had not uttered any declarations of love. But he felt it. And he loved her. Deeply. He was never letting go of her. 

Looking back on their courtship up until this point amused him. It wasn’t as though this was love at first sight. He was intrigued by her, even a bit intimidated (there’s a first time for everything, he guessed) but his physical attraction to her had been a slow burn. Looking at her now he wondered how that was ever possible. She was so beautiful. Incomparable to other lovers he’d had. Now with the dawn’s light filtering through the blinds her skin appeared luminescent, her hair looked like warm fire. He was certain the only reason he didn’t currently have and erection was because he was on so many damned medications to keep his blood pressure down. It was incredibly frustrating. He wanted her, and he hated not being able to have her these last weeks. Though they had certainly grown closer because of this forced shift in dynamic. Possibly it was exactly what they needed. They couldn’t fall back onto their intense sexual chemistry. And so they got to know one another. And all it did was make him fall harder. He already knew, way back after their first time together in his apartment, that if this didn’t work out, his best sexual experiences were behind him. Now he also knew that no person would ever be able to match his intellect and sense of humor the way that she did.

***

Light kisses on her shoulder woke her up. Bill. She could melt from her desire for him. She sighed in satisfaction and stretched her neck to give his access. His lips were so soft. His kisses were so tender. She turned her body toward him, her eyes still closed. She was, indeed horny as hell, and still half-asleep. She kept her eyes closed, relying on her instincts and sense of touch to guide her. Her hands felt his bicep. From merely touching his skin and feeling his muscles her libido set fire. He was so strong and sexy. She wanted to swing her leg over his hip and mount him. She just needed to wake up fully. His lips made contact with her cheek and she turned her head to kiss him fully, morning breath be damned. It was a kiss full of need. Just before she was about to grab his cock she came to her senses. 

“We can’t.” She managed to say with her lips against his. 

“Maybe you can’t, but I can.” She thought he had this backwards, but couldn’t correct him because he was making her feel…

After a few more minutes of luxuriating in his touch and kisses she really woke up. She opened her eyes and saw his dark blue eyes sparkling. There was lust and emotion there. She had missed that look more than she’d realized. 

“Bill, your blood pressure. We didn’t check it yet. And you need your pills.”

“I’ll take them. Don’t worry. Let me do this for you.”

“Do what?” She knew damn well what. “Gods Bill, I miss you.”

“You wait on me hand and foot twenty-four hours a day. We see each other all the time. How can you miss me?”

She could not control her breath. She wanted him so badly. “You know what I mean, don’t play dumb.”

“Come on, tell me what you miss.”

She winced a little before admitting her truth, “I miss sex. I miss your cock.” She hid her face in his shoulder. She really shouldn’t be talking to him this way while he was recovering. It wasn't fair to him since he couldn’t partake. But her will was weak when it came to Bill Adama. After all, he had asked.

“I miss it too, Laura. Your pussy is my happy place.” They giggled with their foreheads pressed together.

“As soon as that doctor clears you for launch, I’m going to frak you senseless.”

“Such dirty language for a school teacher Miss Roslin!” He teased. “But I think I’ll be doing the frakking.” His hand gripped her silk nightgown at the level of her thigh. 

“It wouldn’t be fair to you now. If you can’t - ”

“I’m not asking, I’m offering.” he told her as his hand wandered to where she was practically throbbing.

“Okay, I won’t say no.” She surrendered as his thick fingers made contact. Her eyes rolled back and she held onto his arm with both hands. She moved her hips for some extra friction, hoping that he wouldn’t think of her actions as selfish. She was already so wet.

“Can you do something for me?”

“Bill, no. I am not going to break doctor’s orders.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to. I want you to turn around.”

“Oh,” she was not sure why he wanted this, she rather liked being face to face with him, but she’d do anything he wanted, really. She turned around so they were spooning.

“Not that way. I want to see you. Will you lay so that your head is towards the foot of the bed?”

It was a little unnerving, to expose herself so openly to him. So many of their prior encounters were in the dark, or took place while they were mostly dressed. It was kind of scary to spread her legs in broad daylight. But she wanted to do it for him, and also for herself. She was well aware of how skilled his hands were and she was dying for release. Before positioning herself that way she sat up and kissed him tenderly.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I don’t want to get you too worked up.”

“These damn pills are making it impossible for me to do anything else anyway. I’m fine. I wish I could do more, but until these prescriptions run out I’ll just have to enjoy watching you get off.”

“Okay.” she said, swiveling around and laying back so his hand could easily reach her. Together they pushed her nightgown over her hips so that she was fully exposed to him. Her modesty long gone.

“Laura, you’re so beautiful.” It was a compliment she wasn’t sure if she was worthy of. At least not, down there. But Bill had never lied to her before. And his voice went deep and had that unquestioning authority she found so sexy. 

As he began to work his magic she grasped his thigh. The muscle there was like a brick. She took care not to grip him too hard, she was already nervous that this was too much on him. Her face was inches away from his boxer shorts, and she could see that he was not erect. It was both disappointing and reassuring. At least she knew they weren’t compromising his recovery.

Her other hand was in a tight fist, balling up the fabric of the sheets as his fingers went from teasing her entrance to eventually pumping in and out of her as his thumb circled against her clit. He found that spot inside of her, a place nobody else had ever reached. He was always doing things to her that nobody else had. Just before her mind went blank from the pleasure she thought about how this might be it. He was everything she wanted and needed. His touch was no longer teasing but seeking out her release. However she wanted him to touch her, he did before she could even ask; like he could read her mind. Maybe he was taking clues from watching her so intently. Whatever he was doing, she wanted it to never stop. Then two fingers were inside of her, surprisingly it was not a poor substitute for his cock. He moved them in a way that she couldn’t visualize if she tried. He seemed to have a range of motion that was supernatural. He found that spot again and this time pressed into it, hard. Her eyes flew open and her whole body went rigid. She involuntarily squeezed his fingers over and over, a rush of warmth coursed through her body. She cried out his name, thanking him. He tried to keep going after she stopped undulating around his fingers; but she grabbed his wrist with both hands, needing a break. It had been too long, and the intensity of that orgasm was going to require some recovery. 

She was coming down easy, feeling loved and satiated. She was so grateful for him. They both took to caressing each other where they could reach. She was fascinated by the muscles in his legs. She was careful not to wander too close to anywhere that might remind him that he couldn’t do more right now. 

“Come backup here.” he asked.

She was happy to. Was it insane to think about how she missed him? He had just been inside of her. As she sat up he was shamelessly licking his fingers, making her smile. 

“Did you miss me?” she asked, kissing his cheek.

“I did.” He said matter of factly, no indication that he thought this was an absurd question. “Did you enjoy that?”

“I think you know I did.” she answered, touching his face. Scanning those fascinating scars and chiseled cheekbones with her eyes and smiling.

“And how about you? Did you like that? Watching me.”

“Yes. Beautiful. I’ll never forget it. His other hand cupped her cheek tenderly. 

“I think I might need to go to the doctor though.”

She bolted upright, looking him over. “Why? Are you okay? Did you feel something pop open?” She really didn’t really know what to check for, the details of how they fixed his arteries was beyond her scope of sponge baths and handing him pills. But she was suddenly scared to death that something was really really wrong. 

“No no no. Laura, I’m okay. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He sat up and kissed her shoulder, soothing her.

“Then what’s wrong? Why do you need to go to the doctor?”

He had an impish smile on his face before he said, “I think you squeezed me so tight, you might have broken my fingers.”

“Oh my Gods, are you serious?”

He started laughing and she scolded him. “Bill Adama, do NOT scare me like that again!”

“I know, I know, but I couldn’t resist.” he said while wiggling his fingers on his obviously non-injured hand. 

“If you want to spare your precious fingers, then don’t make me come so hard next time.”

“Fat chance of that. It would be worth ten broken fingers to see that again.”

“Fat chance of that if you’re going to scare me like that again.” She countered. She was so angry and annoyed. And it was embarrassing that she had panicked. 

He stopped her from jumping out of bed and pulled her down against him so they were spooning. “I won’t. I promise.” He kissed her neck and shoulder blade. “You’re so good to me. I love you.” he spoke softly.

She had been through about a thousand emotions in the last ten minutes. She’d never been in love before. Deep down, she knew that was what this was. This all consuming, complicated, anguish that was now her life. She loved him so much that the words didn’t seem to cover it. So she did not say it back. She laid there in his arms and knew that the old Laura, the one filled with doubt and mistrust, was gone for good.


	15. 15

-15-

He could tell from a block away that something wasn’t right with Laura. He had nothing better to do but observe her during his convalescence. He came to know every nuance in her mannerisms. It wasn’t a bad way to pass the time. She was lovely to look at; feminine and strong, purposeful in her movements. And her body was sent straight from the Gods; he had never thought the Gods were real, but watching her hips sway as she walked around his apartment seemed proof enough to him. Right now, the way her arms were stiffly crossed at her hips he could tell that something had upset her as she made her way closer towards him outside of the military hospital. He had just wrapped up his final follow-up appointment from his gunshot wounds. Good thing he didn’t have bad news for her. 

“You okay?” they asked each other at the same time as he closed the distance to her. They both chucked. 

“You first.” Laura insisted.

“Cleared for duty.”

“That’s great, Bill.” She smiled warmly and ran her hand over his bicep with affection. “I wish I had come in with you.”

He had the same wish. Through her smile he could see that she was down and distracted. “What happened at work?”

She stared off for a moment and nodded to herself before speaking, “I think I’d like to not talk about it at the moment.”

Bill understood. She didn’t owe him every detail of her life. Though he didn’t like that she was upset. 

“Fair enough. You want to grab some lunch, or head home, or..”

“Yes.” She answered distractedly. “I think I will go home. You’ve been cleared by the doctor, you don't need me, right?”

Need her? Bill did not know what to say to this. When he asked her if she wanted to go home, he meant together. He didn’t know what ‘home’ was anymore without her. He really was a lovesick fool for thinking it. Yes they were a couple, but they weren’t married, or even engaged. Being thrust together like they had been was like putting their relationship through an FTL drive. She had been gracious to help him, and he owed it to her to let her get back to her own home and her routine. Hearing her say it is so many words though? It stung like a motherfrakker. 

“Sure.”

Maybe his fears were true and Laura had been slowly pulling away from him. She didn’t kiss him the way she used to. She wore old t-shirts and sweats to bed instead of her satin nighties. This - by the way - did nothing to make her less sexy in Bill’s eyes. She could wear anything and he’d be attracted to her. That ship had long since sailed. 

With how close they were to his building, he could have just walked home, especially since her condo was in the other direction and he was now free and clear to go back to all his normal activities. But Laura insisted she drive him back home, reminding him that she also needed to get her things… he was filled with dread at the comment. The lizard part of his male brain had thought about being back at his place with Laura after this appointment, a lot. Alas it looked like there would be no sex in his immediate future. And a small voice reminded him that if she had sex with him while in this kind of mood, it would be her pushing aside her real problems and using him as a means to escape, and that had not been a good method for them in the past. Well, no - it had been good, of course, just not good for their intimacy. 

Things were not all bad, he was encouraged by her smile and genuine interest in his health. And when he told her that Atlantia had already gone back out to space and his next tour would be ground duty at Caprica City headquarters, she reached over and squeezed his knee, thanking the gods under her breath. Her delicate fingers provided him with some much needed hope.

Watching her pack her bag while he sat at his kitchen table was awful. But what could he do? Barricade the door and insist she stay with him forever? Get down on his knees and beg her not to go? That would be insane. He knew enough about this woman that pushing her, or showing her his desperation would be a mistake. No, he would keep his cards close to the vest.

“Well...” She said standing near the door, suitcase in hand. 

He got up and walked over to her, feigning strength. “I can never thank you enough. You’ve been a godssend.” He admitted.

“I thought you didn’t believe in the Gods.” 

“And then I met you.” He said simply, unable to stop from grinning.

He was rewarded with a kiss. A real one. With passion and tenderness and everything he thought he may have lost. It was glorious. When they pulled apart he saw unshed tears in her eyes. Again he stopped himself from demanding she stay and tell him what was bothering her. Instead he simply asked, “Call me if you need anything?” And she nodded silently before leaving. 

****

Her thoughts swirled around her head all morning as they got ready to go for his appointment. She dropped him off to give him some semblance of privacy. He looked at her, confused when she told him that she would be back to pick him up. “We have to get used to getting back to normal”, she'd told him. He kind of grunted in response. She took it to mean he was feeling just as conflicted as she was. It was going to be difficult to go back to living alone again. Which was funny to think, because she had lived alone for most of her adult life. 

She liked living with Bill. Just being around him. Sharing meals, reading next to each other, talking for hours about little things and big issues, entertaining the boys when they came to visit. She was going to miss it all terribly. But she couldn’t exactly stay there for those reasons alone. Moving in together was a huge step. This was always meant to be temporary. But that didn’t mean she had to like it.

She did however, start to be mindful about how much she touched him, kissed him. She had to pull back on those little affectionate interludes to prepare herself to living without him. Also, she didn’t want to lead him down a path that could lead to him pleasuring her and with her unable to return the favor. That would be just cruel. And she hated herself for letting it happen a few mornings ago. How selfish she had been that day. In her defense, she had not had her morning coffee and therefore her judgement was impaired. She wouldn’t let it happen again though. Not until the doctor cleared him for launch, so to speak.

She dropped him off in front of the hospital, parked, and headed to work a few blocks away. She planned to drop some things off with her aide and would be back for him within the hour. When she got to her office door it was open and there was someone sitting in her chair.

“Richard?”

“Nice of you to grace us with your presence, Laura.”

“You know that I’ve been working from home. Why are you at my desk?

“How is your ‘family emergency’?” His tone was sarcastic, and very much UNappreciated.

“It’s fine. Making progress.”

“It’s not your dad, I saw him at the market last week. And it’s not the girls.” She said nothing. She didn't want to mix her home life with work any more than she already had. Damn her for confiding in him when she first got the job here. It had been a bad time in her life. She was vulnerable. And he was friendly and seemed to want to listen to her. Then of course, she found out that he wanted a lot more than that.

“And so I have to assume it’s something to do with me getting you a government pass to get on the Atlantia.” He stood and walked around the desk to stand closer to her. But she countered and walked so that she was now behind the desk. She felt like he was a shark chasing a minnow.

“How astute.”

“You’re dating someone who is in the military?”

“Richard-“

“A soldier, eh? I did not take you for a flyboy groupie.” He just gave away that he’d looked Bill up. She never mentioned specifics about the injured person aboard she rushed to see.

“You’d be surprised.” She tried to say with some levity. She wanted to get out of here. She dreaded what was coming.

“So about that favor you owe me...” This was true, she did owe him one. He had to pull some major strings to get her on board Atlantia, and at the time he hadn’t asked too many questions. 

“Yes. If there’s anything I can do for you on a professional level, don’t hesitate to ask.”

He laughed. Speaking to her as if she were a small, slow child he continued, “Laura, I know you come and go as you please. And I don’t mind since your department is running so smoothly. But I am your boss. Which - as you well know, means that you do not do ‘professional’ favors for me. I give you directives. And you carry them out. For money.”

“Richard-“

He interrupted, “What you can do for me is give me something I can’t give myself.” He looked her up and down slowly and grasped his belt. She found it impossible to say no to Richard on most occasions. This was not one of them. 

“Shoe shine?” She raised her eyebrows and tried pretending that he was kidding. Unfortunately she knew from prior mistakes that he was not. 

“Don’t be coy, Laura.” He deadpanned.

“I’m not, Richard. I’ve already told you that what happened between us will never happen again. Also, this is completely inappropriate.”

“Laura, The colonies run on more than political favors. If you’re going to make it when we get to the federal level, you need to know that.”

So if she didn’t blow him right here she wouldn’t be in on his next campaign? Her worth to the colonies could be boiled down to sex? 

“Well....Thank you for that insight into your moral compass.” She said coldly, “But I disagree, and I won’t cheat on Bill.” She made her way to the door, now standing toe to toe with him.

“It’s just a blowjob. You owe me. Frankly so does your soldier.” The creepiest smirk crossed his face when he said it. She was absolutely shocked at his words. She wanted out of here. She wanted Bill. She wanted the floor to swallow her whole.

“I’ll let him know you think so.” He was scrutinizing her, and did not move to let her pass. But pass him she did. And she did not look back.

When she saw Bill from across the street she was filled with relief. He always seemed to make her feel that way. He had such a calm presence. But she wasn’t doing a good job at masking her own turmoil. He was on to her, she could tell by the way he reached for her with concern all over his weathered face. The last thing she wanted to do right now was tell him about Richard. That man, her boss, the man she once so admired had just made her feel so insignificant, so disposable. 

She tried to listen to Bill and grasp all the details of his appointment but she was feeling so cheap and dirty after her confrontation with Richard that she found it hard to concentrate. Then came the really negative thoughts: Bill could do better than her, he deserved someone who didn’t have her shameful secrets, someone who could actually listen to him about his really important appointment. But her brain would not let her. She needed to decide upon her next move with Richard. She’d be damned if she was going to give up everything she’d worked for. Bill’s health and recovery had dominated her thoughts, and now they were tainted with this drama. She hated Richard even more for that. 

She gathered her things to leave Bill's place as fast as she could without seeming rude. There was affection swirling around in his beautiful blue eyes as he watched her do this along with a twinge of regret. Gods she had regrets too. A part of her wanted to tell him all about it. But she tamped the desire to share deep down and plowed ahead. Everything felt impossibly complicated until right before she left. He made some comment about the Gods and she had teased him about it. “And then I met you.” he said. Her heart burst with affection and she kissed him. She kissed him the way she had missed kissing him, and she hoped her kiss let him know how much she appreciated those words.

***

Around dinner time his phone rang. “Adama” he said gruffly, wanting to be left alone. His mood was awful, especially since he had no alcohol in the house.

“Bill?” Her voice was quiet. He closed his eyes in sweet relief. 

“Laura. Are you alright?”

“Not really. I have to tell you something.”

“Okay.”

“When I went to my office, I ran into Richard.”

Bill hated that prick. He’d be surprised if anyone who’d ever ran into that smarmy s.o.b. ever had a good interaction.

“He told me I owe him a favor for getting me on you Battlestar.”

“I bet he did. What kind of favor?”

“The kind that would make you upset.”

“I see.” Even though he was cleared by the doctor, he was still supposed to be keeping his stress levels down. At the moment he felt heat rising to the surface, depending on where this story was going, he might have to go buy a bottle of the expensive ambrosia.

THere was a long pause before, “Oh my gods Bill, I didn't do it! I should have said that first.”

“That might have been better for my blood pressure, yes.”

“Gods, of course I didn’t do anything with him. I would never do that to you. You know that, right?”

“I didn’t think you would Laura, but you rushed outta here so fast today. It was like you would have rather been anywhere else.”

“I know and I take responsibility for that. I didn’t not want to make you feel bad today Bill, oh my Gods. Especially not on a day when we should have been celebrating your health. RIchard just ruined my day. I hate that he can do that to me.”

“He’s a real prick.”

“I know.” There was silence for a long time, he was thinking about what to say to make this situation better and she made it worse. “I slept with him. After my mom died. I wasn’t thinking clearly. And he’s married. And he’s my boss. And I allowed it to happen. It was colossally stupid. He did everything perfectly.” Her voice broke. “And I have to live with it. And I'm not doing a very good job of living with it. I’m so embarrassed. And you...you’re just so… I understand if you don’t want to see me anymore.”

“Laura!” He had to take a moment to gather his thoughts. “Whatever is done is done. We have to live with it. But you are letting it eat you up inside. Don’t let Richard Adar do that to you. You are better than him. You are not a bad person. The bad person is the one who cheated on their spouse and took advantage of a woman who was going through an awful time. A woman who works under him.”

“But I’m not blameless and now he is going to make my life a living hell.”

“I am never going to tell you what to do. But if it were me, I would get as far away from him as possible. I saw how you were today. I knew something happened. I didn’t want to push, but I need you to know that you can tell me when something is upsetting you. Anything.”

“Okay.”

“If I ask you something right now do you promise to tell me the truth?”

“Yes.”

“What do you need?”

She answered right away with one word, “You.”

And with that one word he was out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there was a long wait for this one. I'm blown away that people are leaving comments. It makes me so happy that I am not the only person left in the world who loves these two characters after all these years. Thank you all so much for reading!


	16. 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is now gone into PWP territory... my apologies.

-16-

He made it to her place in record time, even with making an important stop. She answered the door wearing her pajamas. A burgundy short cotton robe that piqued his interest as to what was under it. Her hair was down in loose curls. She was so beautiful. Even though he knew she was gorgeous, sometimes his breath would catch at the sight of her.

He intended to say hello, or tell her that he brought her favorite ice cream. But he could not hold back what was on his mind. “Missed you.” He said with a shy smile.

“Me too.” She said back and her arms reached out for him. They clung onto each other as though they had been separated for a long time, or as though separated under some dramatic circumstances. The fact was they had only been apart for a few hours, and there was no fighting or drama between them really. They simply missed each other. Bill thought that it felt nice to be held by her, and even nicer to be missed by her.

Her head was buried in his collarbone as he breathed in her scent. She smelled like freesias and citrus and something else...home. He relaxed into their embrace when he heard the words “I love you” tumble forth from her. He had never heard anything sweeter. He savored the moment with a deep breath, as though he had been waiting a lifetime for her to say those words to him. After all, he had told her many times.

“About time.” He said after pulling back to see tear tracks on her face. Thankfully she was also smiling, and so he took them to be happy tears. Tears of bravery. Bill knew that it took a lot for Laura to admit her feelings. He kissed her temple and she pulled him back to her into a bear hug. 

***

Laughter now spilled out of her. She could not believe how freeing it was to say those words. It had taken great effort not to say them on many occasions, but tonight she didn’t have the capacity to censor herself. She was too worn out, too stressed, too vulnerable. She was glad for it. She relaxed into his muscular arms as they soothed her earlier woes. “I’m sorry I left.” She admitted.

“I’m here now.”

“Thank you for coming. And for bringing me ice cream.” She took the bag from him and peered inside, grinning more.

“You said you needed me.”

“I know. I do.” She said while making her way to her kitchen as he followed.

“You also said…” he hesitated, “that we needed to get back to normal.” Oh crap, her heart sank. It stung a little, the hurt tone in his voice. But she knew they needed to talk about how she ran out on him. Again.  
She decided ice cream could wait and put it in the freezer.

“I know I did. I swear I thought it was the right thing to do. And then I saw Richard. And an already bad day turned into an awful day. I thought it might be better to spare you my morose mood since you were having a good day.”

He considered her for a while before shaking his head, “I wasn’t having a good day.”

“But you told me that you got good news.” She said incredulously. Knowing that Bill’s health crisis was over was the best thing that could have happened. Surely he should be having a wonderful day after getting that news.

“Laura, let me explain something to you.” His voice was borderline condescending. 

“Alright.” She squared her shoulders, preparing for something bad. She steeled herself for some mansplaining. But this was Bill, not Richard. So she should have known better.

“I love you. So if you’re not having a good day, I’m not having a good day.” He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.

Oh gods. She couldn’t believe this man. She had spent a lifetime on the cynical side of romance. How could she fall in love with a sap? But Bill’s sentiment did not make her cringe. It made her knees weak. It made her feel like she was falling. Over and over. Like it was someone else’s life. “You’re too good to me.”

“Impossibile. You deserve everything good.”

“But what I told you about Richard-“

“Laura if you want or need to talk about that now I am here for you. But I don’t need to talk about it. I came over to help you to relax and to eat ice cream with you. And I want to go to bed. With you.” Gods she was glad that he said that. Going through the whole Richard situation again wasn’t something she was looking forward to. She was more than willing to change the subject.

“So then…” she cleared her throat, “Is this a sleepover?”

“It would feel weird to sleep without you.” And for the second time ever, she saw him blush. She loved it. Gods, he was so cute. 

“Yeah?” She felt herself blushing now too.

“Yeah. What do you think?”

“I want you to stay. But I don’t know...what about your incision? Your blood pressure?”

“I got the all clear. For everything.”

“Okay. But your doctor doesn’t know what you’re like.” She said with some semblance of severity in her voice. She would not have Bill Adama die on top of her.

“What does that mean?” He asked, brow furrowed.

She couldn’t resist sauntering closer to him, partially because he needed reassurance; partially because after weeks of suppressing her desires, she was getting turned on at simply allowing her thoughts to stray to Bill and sex. “You tend to be….oh I don’t know,” she leaned in close. So close that she could see every nuance in his dark blue irises, “overzealous?”

“Is that a bad thing?” He asked smugly.

“No no no.” She said quietly while caressing his chest with her fingertips. “It’s just that we need to do things a little differently this first time.” He opened his mouth to protest but she didn’t let him. “Just for my piece of mind.”

“What exactly will this entail?”

She thought for a moment, bit her bottom lip in concentration as mischievous thoughts brought her cheeks to a smile. She met his eyes to negotiate, “Put it this way: tonight, you let ME drive the viper.” She looked him up and down and saw a familiar bulge in his pants, then cupped it in her palm while thanking the gods. 

He looked a little dazed before saying, “Yes sir.”

***

She could drive anytime. Right now, she was driving him crazy. He was fully nude and tangled in her silky sheets while she was climbing around him, kissing and touching him wherever she pleased. And he was oh too happy to allow her to have her way. It was exceedingly difficult to be passive right now. But every advance he made she swatted away. He tried to sit up and she withdrew completely. “I don’t want you hurting yourself!” she exclaimed with a wild look in her eyes. It was sexy and somewhat frightening at the same time. He was not going to disobey her, though he was tempted to see what would happen. She had that effect in him. He wanted to see her in every way, in every possible scenario.

The maroon robe was still on, though he watched her remove a small pair of black panties just before she climbed into bed. He thought he saw a hint of lace on her bra and he was dying to see it. But she evaded his attempts to disrobe her. When her hair tickled over his abdomen and she nuzzled the tips of his thighs, he had to stop her.

“Laura...” He tapped her shoulder as her tongue started to slide against his shaft. It was torture to ask her to stop, but he had waited too long to be with her again. “You have to stop. If you keep that up this will be over before we can even get started.”

Her eyes snapped up to his,“Can’t have that” she said with a smirk. 

Before he knew it she had straddled his thighs and untied the sash on her robe revealing her black lace demi bra. He really thought he died and went to heaven when she grabbed his erection and slid down, enveloping him into her. His brain was turning to mush as the maroon robe parted and slid off her shoulders, the fabric loose around her. He reached for her and pushed her tits up until they spilled out of the bra’s cups. Watching her tits sway as she rode him fueled his desire. He wanted them to be closer. He wanted to feel all of her skin against his. He needed to lick a line between her nipples, to suck on them and hold her in his arms.

But when he made a move to sit up, his body betrayed him. He winced in mild pain, but he did a lousy job of hiding it from Laura. She was off the bed, had the robe wrapped back around her tightly , and was pacing in a panic within seconds. 

“Oh my gods, oh my gods. Did I hurt you? This is too much too fast. We can’t.” 

“I’m okay. You didn’t hurt me. I wanted to kiss you and I tried to pull myself up but I haven’t worked those muscles in a while.” 

“You’re not hurt? Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. Please. Please, come back to bed.”

***

She never could resist his gravelly voice saying “please” in bed. She stopped pacing and put her hands on her hips to question him further. “Did you feel any pops?” 

“Pops? No, not yet.” he joked.

“Gods!” She exclaimed, putting her head in her hands. “Bill I’m not kidding around! I don’t want you to die because we couldn’t keep our hands off of each other!”

When she looked down at the bed she saw that he was on his side, laying propped up on an elbow. He was looking relaxed, healthy, and sexy as hell. She felt her jaw go slack at the sight of him. The wince he had in his face from moments ago was replaced with a grin. Maybe she was being a little hysterical.

“I really don’t want to hurt you. I am afraid to lean on you. I’m afraid of you exerting yourself too much...” She explained as she sat on the side of the bed next to him.

“Can we try something?”

“That depends” she answered automatically.

“Take off your robe and that bra.”

Normally she would not follow commands like this from a lover. But the bass in his voice, the authority he exhibited; it had her obeying without a second thought. Now she stood naked in front of him. And he was fully naked below her. His erection was stiff and slick from their lovemaking.

“Come lay down next to me.” She did as told and he tucked his arm under her. He kissed her shoulder and caressed her side before pulling her hip back. Then he took himself in hand and slid into her once again. 

She gasped at the fullness she felt from this position. He was on his side while she was on her back. He held her thigh up while pumping in and out at a languid pace. Every ridge and vein of his cock felt as though amplified in this position. Best of all she was able to turn her head and look into his eyes, reassured that she saw no evidence of pain. There was only pleasure and love there. She wanted to ask if he was alright, but only moans came out. Maybe something resembling his name came forth. But really all she could do was try to hold on to this feeling; she tried to reach for any skin of his that she could. Even though the pace was not frantic, she was totally and completely lost and overwhelmed. In no time she felt herself building towards release.

***

This was it. His favorite so far. He thought they’d covered all the positions before but this was far and away the best. He could feel every single groove inside her pussy. To watch her writhing on her back at the same time, tits swaying and mouth open... Better still, she was unable to reach any part of him that would cause him to break his concentration. He was thinking of how he could just stay in this moment forever. Thrusting into her to see her eyes close in pleasure, or open wide with surprise as he hit her at just the right angle. To be inside of her while she was losing control, able to see all of her body slick with sweat as she moaned his name, it was incredible. His fingers sat in the grooves of her ribs just under her breast, the other hand caressed her shapely thigh. His eyes feasted on her. How he was able to keep himself from finishing was a miracle. He told himself to focus on the little hairs stuck to her neck, or on to how her hands seemed to be unable to find a place to land while she enjoyed his deliberate strokes. If not for these distractors, he would be long finished. 

Thankfully she was close. Her shoulders came off the bed and her hands slapped down on the sheets as she gasped loudly. He released her leg and placed his hand over her vulva to help. Easily he found her clit. He began to stroke his hand over her and the already building release peaked and she shattered. Her vagina sucking and pulling on his cock with delicious force. She gasped and screamed with her release as he drilled inside of her, wanting to draw it out. Not wanting to miss the sensation of being inside of her during the aftermath. That was when she became so soft inside, a rush of wetness enveloping him while she came down. Her chest was heaving and she was gasping for air. And he did that to her. All of it. 

Watching her breasts heave in the aftermath of her epic orgasm made him change focus to her nipples. He was far from done with her. He’d swallow her whole if he could.

****

She was not fully recovered, her exhales sharp and her heart beating wildly. It was unbelievable what he just did to her. His attention now on her breasts, he sucked a nipple into his mouth and she thought this must be why lovers sometimes call each other ‘baby’. Her fingers laced into his hair and she held him there, encouraging him to suckle oh her.

He was still tucked inside of her, with any over lover, she would have turned away by now and curled into herself. But with Bill she stayed as she was and wanted nothing more than to give him what he had just given her. Just as soon as she was able to move again...and just as soon as she stopped reveling in Bill as his mouth traced a path along her throat and his hips started to move once more. She groaned as he moved. She pulled his head up so that she could kiss him fully, their tongues reaching for more of one another. When he pulled back slightly to look down at her, his thrusts picked up in intensity. Suddenly she remembered that she didn't want him to overextend himself. He had already gone harder than she should have allowed. She pushed his shoulders and he took the hint, laying on his back. His attempt to get her to roll over with him was thwarted. She was not going to be responsible for crushing him.

“You weigh nothing, don’t worry about it.” He said trying to get her back on top. She didn't even realize she said anything out loud. Careful not to push on his chest she held onto his shoulders and kissed him fervently. She shushed him before slinking over his body. Kissing a gentle trail down his scar before settling at his hips.   
Truthfully the scar never ceased to shock her. It was completely healed but still so long and pink compared to his olive-toned skin. Seeing it now, she was reminded of almost losing him. She could no longer imagine her life without him. And she had almost thrown him away. It was so irresponsible of her to do that to both of them! She had a lot to make up for.

She took him in hand, pursed her lips and ran them up and down his length, then retracing the path with her tongue. She liked the taste of her on him. After licking her way up and down his shaft she moved downwards and paid attention to his balls, loving the fact that they were tight from heavy arousal. One of his big hands caressed her hair while the other gathered every pillow so he could prop himself up enough to see her working him over. The look of desire etched on his scarred and handsome face made her increase her pace. She loved this. Seeing his breathing change from even to short and desperate. She took him between her lips and lowered down to suck his glans. Taking him back out of her mouth she dragged her wet lips all around his length while her hands gripped onto his flank. Through her lashes she saw his eyes dark with need and she went back down on him, taking him inch by inch as far as she could. She had to sit up some in order to change her angle and take him to the back of her throat. She sucked and swallowed as best she could. It was hard to breathe through her nose but worth the reward of hearing him moan in surrender. She switched to set a quick pace of taking him in and out of her warm mouth. He pushed her hair aside so he could see her enjoying him. She knew he loved to watch and she was more than willing to put on a show. She used everything she had. Not long after her hands joined her mouth to cover his cock, Bill was clearly about to lose it. He pulled her hair slightly and warned her that he was going to come. Instead of withdrawing, she sank lower down, swallowing his hot ejaculate as he came out in four, no five gushes. 

***

He had called out her name in ecstasy and now he felt boneless. He had really chosen well, he thought to himself. Laura was smart and adorable and gave the best head. And he was a connoisseur of head. After he came she made a point to look up at him to make sure he was watching her (of course he was) and she took care to clean him off before tilting her head back and swallowing. It was sexy as hell. His male pride was off any imaginable scale after seeing that. 

She crawled up towards him and settled close, her fingertips drawing idle circles along his chest and belly. Maybe it was because that was his first orgasm since the accident, but he felt like it was the best one he’d ever had. And he also felt his eyelids heavy and sleep coming to take him away.

“You okay, Bill?”

“We did good. So tired.”

“That’s okay, it was a lot.” She kissed his shoulder.

“Your turn. Reciprocity.” He said sleepily. 

“You more than gave me my turn.” Her voice was deep and sultry. 

He tried to respond but all he managed was a humming sound. He pulled her closer and held her hip. She had already draped her leg across him. They couldn’t get closer. 

He couldn’t love her more.


End file.
